


Bones, Fires, and Two idiots (Discontinued, so don't bother)

by IdioticBrainspark



Category: Naruto
Genre: BAMF Kaguya clan heir, Case in point: Kubo, Clans, Cross-posted from FFN.net, Different from FFN version, Disease is its only weakness, Don't Like Don't Read, Fist work on AO3, Haku is the sweetest, I never leave the house anyways, I'm Bad At Titles, Incredibly vague just to mess with you, Lots of OCs - Freeform, Lots of pyromaniacs in this story too, Maybe this isn't Kimiko's story at all..., No Beta, No idea what I'm doing, Phoenixes best summon, Quarantine didn't change anything, Sasuke has a crush~, Shikotsumyako best kekkei genkai, Slight changes, Tagging as I go, That's why he and Kimiko get along, The World Will Never Know, We Die Like Men, Who are the two idiots?, and more clans, google translate japanese, kind of weird considering the current situation., most socially inept person out there
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-29
Updated: 2020-05-30
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:01:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 74,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23372113
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IdioticBrainspark/pseuds/IdioticBrainspark
Summary: In the War against Kirigakure and the Kaguya clan, what if there were two survivors instead of one? That's where I come in. Kaguya Kimiko, the last SANE Kaguya. I have ambition. I have skills. I was not meant to be good, but I sure as hell will give it my best shot. Rated T for swearing. (Lots and lots of swearing)Cross posted from FFN.net, but its Kaguya Kiyoko there.Discontinued (Sorry)
Relationships: Haku & OC, Kimimaro & OC, Uchiha Sasuke/OC
Kudos: 7





	1. Freedom

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, this is an OC-rewrite, and I will finish it, no matter what.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, the way this is worded is pretty childish. The first chapter anyways.  
> It's intentional. Cause she's six years old right now.

I was hiding in the long grass, my chakra was as subdued as I could get it, and everything I had learnt about hiding was being put to the test. I had gone to such great lengths to hide, but I was sure my beating heart would give me away. It always does. My pursuer stood in the middle of the field, looking around hurriedly, "Come on, Kimiko!" he whispered, annoyed, "If Orochimaru finds out you ran away again, the consequences will not be good." I involuntarily shivered, light punishments from Orochimaru were the most painful things I had ever been put through. And I had to go along with the foolhardy attempt to attack the Mist Village when I was six. My pursuer was sharp, he wasn't the leader of the Sound 5 for nothing, and before I could even process what was happening, he had Body Flickered behind me and very firmly put his hands on my shoulder. I growled, I didn't want to attack him, but if he was the only thing between me and freedom, I gladly would. I visualized the bones in my foot and willed the bones in my toes and near the soles of my feet to grow into thorns. The little skeletal knives eased their way out of slits in my skin and rooted my bare feet solidly to the ground. He just rolled his pale-green eyes and picked me up with both arms. Soil and grass came off the ground around my feet, the short bone mini-kunai I had formed were too short to properly root me to the ground, so much for that idea. Now for Plan B; talk it out. "Aniki, please don't take me back!" I said, pushing down the quaver that had started showing in my voice, "We're siblings! This Orochimaru is not nice, he's evil, I just want to go somewhere else. You can't be willing to sacrifice me just to earn his respect!"  
Kimimaro's eyes softened, "I'm not sacrificing anyone, Imouto. I just need you to see that Lord Orochimaru will keep us safe. He is kind to a level you have never imagined. I just need you to play it safe, dear sister. Play it safe and you will be respected in this place. The Shinobi Villages do not understand your worth and will never respect you, Orochimaru will."  
I wiped my eyes, "You can't really believe that, can you?"  
Kimimaro nodded, "I do, Kimiko. With every inch of my life."  
I growled and tried to kick him where it hurts, but I had forgotten I was dangling two feet off the ground, "But I don't believe it, brother! If you want to die a meaningless death, fine! But don't drag me into it."  
My brother's usually impassive face showed a flicker of remorse, "You're only a child, Imouto. You'll never make it," I was about to disagree with him when he continued, "You're a Kaguya with the rare kekkei genkai of Shikotsumyako, trained for survival, that may be true, but you are still eight. I will take you back to the base, and if we are lucky, Lord Orochimaru-sama will not have noticed you were missing."  
With those words, all the fight went out of me. I just couldn't get myself to gather the strength to fight my brother. So, I wearily allowed myself to be manhandled back to the base. Kimimaro got past the guards unnoticed, and locked me inside the room that had been designated as my quarters, alone.

* * *

Guess I didn't introduce myself properly, did I? Sorry, I forgot in the moment. My name is Kimiko Kaguya. I have ashy grey hair that goes till a few inches above my waist, but I tie them up in pigtails with two red ribbons, a strand of hair falls towards the side of head, like all Kaguyas and my hair is parted down the middle in a zig-zag hairline. My clan brand is not on my forehead, instead its on my cheek. Don't ask me why, there just are. I where shorts usually, and had on a red shirt with a green jacket at all times.  
I wonder whether Orochimaru knows how close I was to escaping. I hope not. I had snuck out plenty of times before, each time he had unleashed his killing intent on me. It was terrifying, the things I was put through. I had never seen genjustu so powerful in my time in the clan. Kimimaro had speculated harsh consequences if Orochimaru ever discovered my excursion, I couldn't risk it. I was scared, I had always been scared, ever since I unlocked the Shikotsumyako and was locked next to Kimimaro's cell, I had been scared. Our clan had trained us incredibly well, I was taught basic chakra control and could even pull off the Violent Bubble Wave jutsu. I was trained and taught and bred for war. But when the battle began, I had run. Later, Kimimaro found me, he took me to a person who promised to take care of us, to give us a purpose. Kimimaro was happy, but I wasn't. I wasn't a front-line fighter or an assassin or even a spy. I had no purpose for Orochimaru except for experiments, but they didn't experiment on me. They trained me to be something I was not, and I couldn't choose the easy way out. I wanted escape. It was not my smartest wish.  
Kimimaro knelt before the gaunt figure of Orochimaru, "You wanted to see me, lord?"  
Orochimaru scowled coldly, "I received news that your little... shadow had made another run for it."  
Kimimaro looked down, "I'm sorry, lord. I should have said something sooner. I talked to her; she will behave herself from now on."  
The evil sannin smiled sadistically, "This is the fourth time since you have arrived. She'll be much more useful to my progress as a test subject."  
Kimimaro's face reflected no emotion, "Give her one more chance. She'll be a valuable soldier when she grows up."  
Orochimaro hummed, "I gave her a chance. If it was not for you, she would have died on the second attempt."  
Kimimaro's eyes flickered with distaste, "She is not pure Kaguya. Her chakra network is undeveloped, and her skills are nonexistent. She will be of no use to you. Her immune system is weak, due to her Shikotsumyako, she can die from anything. Kimiko will not last even a second in a lab, you cannot use the effects of your experiments be used as a baseline for the effects of all humans."  
Orochimaru's eyes hardened, "You haven't started getting attached to the girl, have you?"  
Kimimaro shook his head, "No, sir. I am loyal to only you."  
Orochimaru smirked coldly, "Alright then, I won't kill her. But she is hindering my progress. If the constant running continues, the Leaf Village or its allies will catch wind of our presence here in the Land of Fire. She will not be accompanying us from now on."  
Kimimaro's jaw tightened just a little, but it was noticeable, "Lord Orochimaru, but where will she go?"  
Orochimaru's eyes glinted as he chuckled sadistically, "Make sure her quarters are secure when we leave. We plan to return in two weeks, so food and water for some time will be given to her before we leave. It'll teach her a lesson on obedience." then he paused and took a look at Kimimaro's face, "What's wrong? Do you feel sorry for your little clan-sister?"  
Kimimaro shook her head, "Not at all. She's asking for punishment."  
The next day, chakra seals had been placed all over the little hut that was my quarters. The earth style using followers of Orochimaru reinforced the hut walls with stone, so it probably looked like a cave from outside. I was given some food and water sealed inside containment seals, but it didn't look like it was enough to last me two weeks. I practiced shooting bone daggers from my fingers, working on the technique called digital shrapnel. I could form them perfectly and my aim was good, the problem was shooting at high speeds. By day three, I had it down. I started practicing ninjutsu, a technique someone had shown me called Water Wall jutsu. I didn't have much water on hand, but that didn't seem to matter. I had trouble with hand signs and chakra control, and it took be a long time to finally give up. My failing chakra reserves also helped in that. It passed like that, the first week, me training as hard as I could in that small hut, then wolfing down some food and collapsing into sleep. But then, day six was when I ran out of food. I had never been expected to go without food for a week. It was not good. I started looking for an escape then, but the place was heavily fortified, I couldn't get out. The days passed by but I lost track of them as my strength faded. I was half delirious, fading in and out of consciousness until one day, I heard the shell of rock from around the hut collapse. Someone was coming. I struggled up to defend myself, curling up into a corner of the room, where my assailant could attack from only one direction. Someone opened the door of the hut, a moonbeam coming down to light up the room. A ninja walked in, kunai at the ready, torch shining around. He caught sight of me almost immediately. He wore dark blue clothes with a dark-green flak jacket, like most ninja. Grey hair tilted at a gravity-defying angle and his lower face was hidden by a mask. I couldn't properly make out his headband in my state but I wasn't gonna take any chances. When he came close to me with that kunai, I concentrated my chakra into my radius, humerus and ulna, picturizing spikes forming and poking out, defending me from this person. The ninja jumped slightly when the spikes came out but then he spoke, slowly, "What are doing here?"  
I swallowed, "I-I didn't do anything wrong! Please don't hurt me!"  
The guy tilted his head slowly, "Why would I hurt you?"  
I blinked my tears away, "You're... not with Or-Orochimaru?"  
The guy seemed confused, "No, we're his enemies. Don't worry, we'll take you back to Konoha and get you fixed up, all right?"  
I nodded, "Thanks." and I tried to stand up and bring my bones back inside at the same time, but I used to much effort. I fell to the ground as my muscles spasmed and I blacked out.  
I woke up near a crackling fire, in the middle of the woods. A slight breeze was blowing and my hair, which had come undone, got into my eyes. The ninja from before was opposite me, watching carefully. I realized quickly that my middle finger and index finger were taped together, as well as my ring and pinky finger on both hands. I looked at the arrangement carefully when he spoke up, "We couldn't risk you trying any jutsu on us. We put some chakra seals on you as well, not that you looked like you had the chakra to get far."  
I nodded, "Thank you. How did you find me?" my voice was rusty so it sounded like I was croaking.  
The man shrugged, "There were reports of a dangerous enemy here. When my squad got here, there was only you."  
I looked around, "Squad?"  
He nodded, "Gai and Kurenai are scouting the area. They'll be back soon. After that, we will take one day to get back to Konoha. Now, what were you doing there anyways?"  
"Kimimaro found me, after the war. He took me to that man, said it was safe, that he would protect us and teach us to fight."  
His eyebrows quirked, "Can you describe this man?"  
I shivered, "He had pale skin, like a ghost or something and weird yellow eyes. Kimi-Kimimaro called him O-Orochimaro..."  
His eye narrowed, "I'm assuming you're a Kaguya, right? Capable of using Shikotsumyako?"  
I nodded, "Yeah, I can use it, why?"  
He leaned back, "No reason." he answered nonchalantly and started reading a book that pulled out from his ninja tool bag.  
I curled back down, when the bushes rustled. I flinched, staring at the moving bushes, waiting for a giant animal to come bursting from the bushes. Turns out, it wasn't an animal, it was worse. A tall guy wearing a green spandex and the most ridiculous bowl haircut I had ever seen. He had on a jacket like the other guy and his headband was on like a belt. He leaned over me and flashed me a megawatt smile, "So this is the young hostage you rescued in the hideout!" he beamed. I carefully scooted away, even his voice was loud. He was obviously Gai-san. For a while, there was awkward silence, until my stomach reminded me that I hadn't eaten in four or more days. I blushed and curled into a ball. Gai gave the other man a glare, "Kakashi! You haven't even given her any food?!" there was an obvious shock in his tone.  
The other man, Kakashi-san, looked up, bored, "She wasn't awake for long."  
Gai-san smiled back at me, "Not to worry, young refugee! I have plenty of rations for you! Now, do you have a name?"  
I nodded, "K-Kimiko. Kaguya Kimiko."  
His eyes almost popped out of his head, "A Kaguya! With your clan's famous bloodline limit?" I nodded hesitantly, and he grinned back, "The Kaguya are famed for the unique taijutsu! It would be an honor to see this special style in action!"  
I paused, did he wish me to display my proficiency in taijutsu so they could determine whether or not I could be of any use to Konoha? But my stomach's rumbling saved me from answering immediately. He rubbed the back off his head, "I am so sorry! Here, have some rations!" and held out something wrapped in a brown packet that I recognized as a ration bar that Tayuya sometimes gave me when I was good. There was no water to soften it up, but I was starving, so I darted forward and grabbed it. It was kind of tasteless, but I couldn't complain, food was food.  
I had choked down the half the packet when the red-eyed konoichi arrived. "No one's following us," she reported, "maybe they are unaware of her discovery? Where is the child anyway?" she asked curiously looking around. I hesitantly raised my hand, feeling shy. The woman nodded and leaned down to get a good look at me, "Hi, so what're you doing there, anyways?"  
I tugged at the shredded sleeve of my jacket, "Kimimaro said it would be safe. He promised me Oro-Orochimaru-san would protect us... He scared me, and I tried to run away, but..."  
Kakashi-san nodded, "They always caught you. So why are they letting you go so easily this time?"  
Gai-san frowned, "They left her as bait! We'll have to bring her back to the village, which'll give them time to get away! What a dastardly plot." Dastardly? What the hell does that even mean?  
The woman looked at me with sad eyes before turning to Gai, "But what choice do we have? She's in a terrible condition. We don't have any leads to where Orochimaru has gone, they could be anywhere. We have to return."  
Kakashi scratched his head, "So... what I'm hearing is that we should return to Konoha, right? Since I already told Kimiko here that we'll be there by tomorrow evening."  
The two shinobi looked at each other and nodded, "It's the best call."  
I didn't remember much about the journey; I was so tired I seemed to be on autopilot. But I remember reaching the gates of Konoha. Those huge gates, they filled me with a warmth I had never felt before. It was like seeing Kimimaro alive after he went on a mission, but a thousand times better. I found out it was called Relief. The shinobi took me to the Third Hokage, and I remember the conversation perfectly. The man looked at me and smiled, so I smiled back, even though it was watery and tears were sliding down my cheeks and my body couldn't stop shaking. Crying was odd, I never cried. It was against the shinobi rules. It hurt, being so far away from home. It burnt knowing I was alone, abandoned. My feelings were starting to catch up with me, and I didn't like it. "You must be scared." he finally said.  
I gulped and nodded, "What will you do with me?"  
He looked straight into my eyes, "We're going to accept you as a refugee once the T&I are done making sure you're who you say you are."

I bowed, then held my hand in front of me, pulling out bones from my distal phalanges, forming them into a figurine like Kubo-nii used to. Hokage-sama's eyebrows quirked up to express his interest. Finally, I held it up in the palm of my hand, showing it to him; the Konoha symbol from all their hitai-ate.

He looked at it in curiosity, "And what's this?"

"A bone figurine." I replied, "It is an important symbol. And Kubo-nii used to say all important things should be immortalized by bone."

He grinned at me in a manner I could not place, and took the Konoha bone shape from me.  
"Can I learn how to be a ninja?" I asked.  
His interest seemed to peak at my question, "Why?"  
I twiddled with my fingers, "I want to find my brother." I said slowly, then the words started tumbling out, "He's not a bad person! He just met bad people! I would do anything to help catch the person who turned him into the thing he is now!"  
He seemed to like my answer, "I'll see what I can do." he promised. A young woman walked in with a piece of paper.  
The Hokage read it, thanked the woman and then smiled up at me, "Well then, the Yamanaka have made sure you're who you say you are. ANBU will be following you, but for now, you can take a stroll through the Village, see what's there to see."  
I nodded and stumbled outside, squinting in the light. There were a lot of people everywhere I went, and the crowds scared me. I backed away from the crowds, looking for a place that was not crowded. My searching finally ended up with me in front of a graveyard. There was a huge memorial set up there, nearly a hundred names etched into the rock. A huge uchiwa fan with a red top and a white bottom. I trembled, so many people, all of them dead... I walked tentatively forward and sat down. I thought about my family, miles away, with unmarked graves. They had been stupid, sure, trying to attack Kiri, but they were still blood. So, what had they done to die like this? It took me some time to realize that the emblem belonged to the Uchiha. I remembered little about them, but I knew they had been massacred. There was a movement at the edge of my peripheral vision, but I didn't react towards it. A short boy walked cautiously out, staring at me. He had bluish black hair, hanging around the sides of his head and sticking out at the back. He had on a blue shirt with a high-ish collar, with the Uchiha emblem at the back. "What are you doing here?" he asked defensively.  
I turned towards him, "Mourning, isn't it obvious?"  
"Why? What were they to you?"  
I smiled, this kid wanted me to be an Uchiha, he probably though I'm some long-lost clan girl to mourn them, "They were nothing to me. I never knew any of them. But I mourn because no one else does."  
The boy sat down next to me, in a seiza position instead of crossing his legs like I was, "I don't know you, who are you?"  
I looked straight at him, "I'm Kaguya Kimiko. Who're you?"  
"Uchiha Sasuke. Do you go to the Academy?"  
I hummed, "No, not yet. Probably after everything is sorted out."  
Uchiha-san blinked, "What do you mean?"  
I looked down at my feet, showing my hesitancy to spend much time with him, "I'm a refugee, see? My entire clan was killed by Kiri and I was taken by a wanted rogue ninja. Now, I'm here."  
Uchiha-san's eyes swam with tears, "You're joking, right? You can't have gone through that without feeling anything!"  
My brow creased and when I spoke, my voice was still calm and even. I would not break. I refuse to break, "Hiding your pain is the first thing you're taught."  
Uchiha-san frowned but he looked like he understood, "So you're the last Kaguya?"  
I shook my head, "Nah, I've got a brother."  
His jaw tightened and his clenched knuckles shone white, "Did he kill the rest of his clan, too?"  
I glared at the memorial, a lone tear dripping down, "He was the best thing to ever happen to me. Stood by me forever. My clan was full of fools. In the war, they were massacred. Good riddance, Kimimaro said."  
Uchiha-san blinked, "I'm so sorry. I had no idea..."  
"They deserved to die." I said emotionlessly, which caused him to flinch, and I immediately dialed it back a notch, "It was years ago, when did yours die?"  
He slunk down, sniffling as quietly as possible, I turned towards, shocked and worried. I had never been good with people, being isolated for four years does that to you, and had no idea how to deal with it. "Damn it." Uchiha-san whispered wiping away his tears, "I promised I'd never cry again in front of anybody. It was a few weeks ago, actually."  
Good God, now I really wanted to make him feel better. I awkwardly patted him on the back, "I'm not good with people, I was locked in a jail cell most of my life, so... is this supposed to show you that I feel your pain?" I asked, hopefully.  
He giggled, "Uh... yeah, that's usually it. Thanks, Kimiko." then then my stomach rumbled the louder than it ever had before and Sasuke turned towards me, who had become red-faced, "What's wrong, haven't you eaten yet?"  
I waved him away, "Nah, I'm fine. I had a few ration bars on the way here..."  
Uchiha-san made a face, "I've tasted ration bars, if you're hungry enough to eat that stuff, you're not okay."  
I looked at him, “On the battlefield, people don’t have time to worry about taste.”  
Uchiha-san, "So, you'd like something to eat?"  
"Sure." I probably should have been more suspicious of him, but tears are hard to fake especially for a child, so I believed he was genuine.  
Uchiha-san led me out of the graveyard and down the street to a barbecue store. The food was delicious, better than anything I had ever tasted, Sasuke was really good at barbecuing meat, who would've thought? It was going okay, until an earsplitting shriek split the air, "SASUKE!" and a young, slim girl, possibly my age, with blond hair pinned back rushing towards us, "I didn't know you liked barbecue."  
Sasuke looked uncomfortable, "Um... I don't like it all that much. I figured Kimiko would enjoy it."  
I felt myself shrinking down, this girl was creeping me out, big time. When she turned her attention to me, I could literally feel killing intent oozing off her. I had felt worse but I didn't want to know what she could do with that kind of motivation. "So, you're Kimiko. What's with your hair, it's so stupid! You're probably just a civilian, since I haven't seen you in konoichi class. It's sad... can't believe Sasuke took you out for lunch." I blinked, what was she doing? It was hard to process what she was saying, were those meant to be insults? Was she just playing around, waiting for me to lower my guard? Will she strike me from behind? Maybe meet me face-on to prove her worth? My brain whirred with options to her plan, but I had no way to counteract whatever she was planning to do. Then she took a step towards me and I snapped.  
My bones reacted instantaneously, covering my most vital part with a heavy calcium armour. The rest of my body had a thin membrane of minerals stretched over me. The blond girl backed away, a look of disgust creeping on her face. Sasuke looked like he had been hit with an electrical wire, and I needed out. I ran away as other patrons screamed and panicked, weaving through the streets as my bone armour dissolved back into my skeleton. I had never been this scared in my life. It took me some time to find out what it was that I was scared of. I was scared of being ostracised. What a shitty hand I had been played...


	2. Training partners

I slumped my shoulders as I walked after the ninja who had been hired to show me the orphanage and look around. He was inexperienced and didn't care about me much, that was obvious. He hadn't been properly debriefed either, since he wasn't watching me cautiously like the more seasoned ninjas who knew I was a Kaguya. I had calmed down from my terror at finally being free from Orochimaru and had turned back into my ordinary blank-faced self. My blank face seemed to be a Kaguya heritage, since I had trouble showing my emotions as a matter of course. It used to amuse the guards who were hired to watch me while travelling with Orochimaru. They would get unexperienced rookies to play things like poker against me, placing bets on who would win. I never understood how to play poker. They never taught me the rules, I had to learn by how my opponents were playing, but I always won in terms of my poker-face. The ninja stopped in front of an old building. It was long and narrow, with a blue roof and limestone blocks. The sign above the building confirmed my suspicions. This was the Konoha Orphanage. The ninja turned towards me, "This is where you'll be staying until you've spent one year in Konoha if you're enrolling in the Academy." He explained, "Come on, I need to get this over with!" I nodded and hurried in after him. The first thing I saw was the receptionist's room. A woman with glasses attached to a cord and a heavily starched stiff white outfit looked up and squinted suspiciously at me. I fidgeted under her sharp gaze. The ninja guiding me stepped in to explain, "She's a refugee. Kaguya Kimiko. Shouldn't be much trouble." then, that awful bastard just walked out. Leaving me under the gaze of the stuffy woman.  
She started rooting about her desk, looking for something, but keeping an uneasy eye on me from the corner of her eyes. I stared impassively back. She stiffened and sweat started coming out. I continued staring. She had stopped looking around, her hands mindlessly roaming the desk, and I was still staring. CRASH! And her wandering hands knocked over a mug, brining her back to reality. She glared at me like I had been the one to knock over the mug, "I'll find that stupid form later! Follow me, and I'll show you around!" She grabbed my hand in an unnervingly tight grip and smiled falsely as she half-dragged me along. The first thing after the office that I saw was a huge playroom. It was at least twice the size of the Hokage's office. Guess it needed to be, there were at least fifty kids of assorted age playing with different toys. The sound of mindless chatter and laughter was so unfamiliar, alien that I went into shock. There's no better way to say this. I just froze. The woman sighed when she saw me staring at all the other kids. Her voice was considerably softer when she spoke, "I guess you'd like to play with the other kids first, right? Sure, go ahead. If you need me, Kaguya-san, I'll be in the office. There are some other caretakers too, if you need them, alright?" I nodded slowly as the woman left the room. Stranding me amongst a throng of strangely delighted children. I scanned the place, looking at all the things to amuse myself with. I noticed that the kids tended to stick together in cliques. There was the youngest group, who were right now staggering after each other as best as they could on their stubby legs. I saw some of the boys and girls throwing wooden kunai and shuriken at each other and shielding themselves with plush foam bricks which they used as cover. It was a surprisingly simple training exercise. With no actual weapons or chakra usage. How are they supposed to become lethal assassins with exercises like this? It confused me, so I moved on. It was obvious to see in what way everyone had divided themselves. One was the Ankle-biter club, where they youngest residents were. They had not yet decided on either ninja or civilian. Then, the kids split off into two groups when they were older; ninja and civilian. The ninja group was mainly playing that weird trench game, but a couple of kids were reading from scrolls and practicing kata, from what I could see. The civilians had older kids with them, since ninjas moved out at six. Most of the girls walked in a huddle and giggled amongst themselves, while others sat and practiced sewing or whatever. The boy civilians were crowded around board games, throwing dice and moving shogi pieces. I had been able to classify them all rather well in ten minutes of observation. My information gathering skills were still quite good. I was able to pick out a couple of outcasts, but none of them stuck out for me. I was still deciding on what exactly to do when a boy dashed into me. He had expressive brown eyes, and his orange side-swept wavy hair pulled into a ponytail sure didn't do him any favors in the ugliness department. He was wearing a blue jacket that looked like it had lost a fight to a really aggressive ink-covered cat. It was covered with scratches and had a few bites taken out of it, and the whole thing was peppered with trails of black paw-prints. His too-long jeans' cuffs trailed around his shoes as he walked. I liked him because he was obviously not a threat, you can hear him coming from a mile away. His terrified wide brown eyes looked around in a panicky motion, "Hide me! Please!" I was so taken aback by the whole situation that I mindlessly transformed into a toy house. His eyes lit up and he immediately hid inside. A group of girls passed me whining things like, 'I swear Kaito-kun was here!' and 'I just saw him run inside!' until another voice, this time soft-spoken with an edge of steel, which came from the window, suggested, "Maybe he went into the sleeping rooms?" there was a pause, then the girls dashed towards the set of doors that apparently led to the sleeping area. I quickly transformed back into me and smiled slightly at the kid who was now a couple feet away from me. He grinned back, "Hey, thanks! I owe you one! Haven't seen you around before! Who're you?"  
I stuck out my hand, "My name's Kaguya Kimiko. This is my first day here. Why were the girls chasing you?"  
He scowled at the doors through which the group had disappeared, "They've been following me around for as long as I've been here! It's ridiculous! Before, it was just a couple of kids, but now they're TEN or more. Always messing up my hair and getting me caught."  
My eyebrows came close together, "Caught? Doing what?"  
He looked around uneasily, "Y'know... doing stupid, not-entirely-legal stuff."  
I raised an eyebrow, "Like?"  
He fidgeted, "Like stealing fruit from that asshole fruit vendor who's awful to all the kids. Or throwing glitter bombs inside the house of that kid who gets his ninja-in-training brother to steal the lunches of all the civilian kids."  
I nodded sagely, "Seems like a pretty good cause. But yeah, a posse of fangirls will definitely get you caught."  
He seemed shocked that I agreed, "Wait, you're a ninja-in-training, right?" I nodded and the boy's face broke into a grin, his eyes literally sparkled, in an ominous way, "So you'll help me out? In pulling off these stunts?"  
I shrugged, thinking about it, "Yeah, sure, seems like good training."  
He pulled me into a hug. I immediately shot off bone spikes to make him back off, which had the opposite effect of not freaking him out only fascinating him further, "Is this a secret ninja technique? Aw man, if I wasn't so scared of gore I would have been able to do this too?! By the way, I'm Kaito! Kanjō Kaito!"  
I nodded slowly at him, before smiling, "Nice to meet you Kaito-san"

Sasuke sighed and rested his elbows on his desk. It had been one week since he had met the grey-haired girl called Kaguya Kimiko. She had seemed to understand how much he hated Itachi even though she had no idea how to show she cared. He had waited for her to show up at the Academy after that, but she never did. Sometimes, he wondered if she had just been a dream. He was planning on asking the Hokage if she even existed once the school was out. He rested his head on his desk and started to zone out, ignoring all the annoying girls giggling at him. The door opened and then shut after someone but Sasuke didn't acknowledge them, seeing as nobody else got up either, so it was possibly just a student. He couldn't understand how Kimiko did that freaky thing with needles poking out of her arms, he would ask her to teach it to him when he found her. It would be useful against his fight with Itachi. Someone nudged him, and a purring voice said, "Hey... Sasuke-kun! Can I sit next to you?"  
"No." he snapped  
Ino gave him a closed eye smile, "Oh, Sasuke-kun! You're so cool." then, completely ignoring his reply, she sat down next to him. Uchiha-san repressed the urge to groan and turned his head away from her. Ino cocked her head, "What's the matter? Are you still thinking about that Kimiko-san? She doesn't deserve you, she's too much of a loser."  
Sasuke rolled his eyes, "Why do you hate her so much?" he asked  
Ino shook her head, "She's such a freak! Did you see the way her bones stuck out of her arms? That's not human, she's a monster!" she laughed cruelly.  
Sasuke huffed, "Go away."  
Ino smiled, "You don't really mean that, do you, Sasuke-kun? You're just hung up on the fact that Kimiko-san doesn't want to sit with you."  
Sasuke turned his head so Ino was in his peripheral vision, "What are you talking about?"  
Ino was no longer smiling, "She just walked in, didn't you see?"  
Sasuke turned to scan the class, and sure enough, there was Kimiko, sitting at the back, far away from all the stares. She was sitting with her head down, next to two empty seats. He slunk back into his chair, "Sit somewhere else, you're annoying." he snapped at Ino. She looked affronted for a second before backing off.  
It was quiet for a while, until a menacing jeer cut through the ordinary chatter, "HEY, FOSSIL FREAK! DO THE BONE THING!" Sasuke's head snapped back to where Kimiko was sitting. It was Ami who had yelled into her ear, pushing her forward. Bones clicked out immediately, from her shoulders and her arms, her feet and her back. Kimiko scrambled up, bones sticking out of her forehead like little horns, and slammed Ami down face-first into the nearest desk, twisting her arm to make sure she couldn’t move before anyone could even blink. The tension in the air was so thick, even a kunai couldn't cut it. Ami's face was slack, "Oh, Kami," she half-taunted, "you really are a monster!"  
Kimiko's bones shrank back in, quickly regaining her composure, "What were you trying to prove?" Her false politeness made Ami's face pale as Kimiko exasperatedly sighed. There was an audible gasp that rippled through the class as Kimiko pulled her up and lifted her so they could see eye-to-eye, "If you want to spar, then do it right." then she dropped the shell-shocked Ami and walked down from her former seat, and looked expectantly at the class, "Does anyone want to switch seats with me?"  
People shared uneasy glances at the prospect of sharing seats with the relatively starved child who had just handed the class bully's ass to her, then Sasuke spoke up, so quiet that few people would have heard if it wasn't deathly quiet, "Sit next to me, Kimiko-chan." Every single girls' eyes bugged out as Kimiko smiled at him and slid into the seat next to him.

I looked at the grief-stricken kid from the graveyard, Uchiha-san, I think he said. I hadn't seen him after the barbecue debacle. I had kept to shadows of the class, trying to stay low-key, but obviously that hadn't helped. I shot a resentful glare at the purple-haired bitch who had screamed in my ear and tried to attack me. No one here seemed to take ninja training seriously. I mean, if you've got the element of surprise, then you should strike hard and fast, giving the enemy the least amount of time to react. What exactly were words supposed to even do? It was around this time when I realised that literally every female in the entire class was glowering at me for no apparent reason. Well, it appeared that way to me. I may have been isolated for years, but even I know fangirls when I see them. That and the one week off that I spent adjusting to the orphanage I had been put in resulted in me being very well-informed about all the gossip of the orphanage, which related very well in the rest of the school. Uchiha-san didn’t realize, he didn't even understand what he'd done. A couple of glances around and reviewing my encounter with that Ino girl, it was obvious that Uchiha-san was the popular kid. The one that everyone fawned on, like Kaito at the orphanage. Unlike Kaito, though, Uchiha-san didn't know that he had fangirls. That, or he chose to deal with the problem by ignoring it. So, if I sat next to him, and the story of him taking me to barbecue restaurant got out, which that blond bitch was sure to do, then I was doomed. Yeah... no. I'm not putting myself in the line of fire for a completely oblivious depressed boy. Nah, I'm outta here. I realized he was still waiting for a reply, so I made a show of mulling the offer over while scanning the room for another place to sit and spied a seat at the front, next to a black-haired boy who had passed out, drooling over his notebooks. The seat behind that was a dark blue-haired girl. She didn't look like much of a threat so, I supposed that was the strategically best location. “Sorry, Uchiha-san. I don’t want to sit with you.” I continued moving towards the seat of my choice, while every other girl stared at me with slack jaws. I was just getting there, when a girl with pink hair and green eyes slid into it. A complication I could get around easily, I slowly willed my distal bones to plunge out of my fingers, like I did with Digital Shrapnel, except I didn't launch it at high velocity, I just made it jap out then shrank it down again before repeating the process and letting the annoyance drain out of me. I settled to do reconnaissance on the captor of my seat, and immediately realized that she was sneaking peeks at Uchiha-san, i.e.; the idiot beside me who was putting me in the line of fire. I had spotted my advantage and got up, weaving nimbly towards the pink-haired girl. "Hey, can you do me a favour?" I asked when I was within earshot.  
The girl wrinkled her nose, "How about you do me a favour? Stay away from Uchiha-san-kun!"  
I rolled my eyes, she obviously didn't love him all that much, since she wasn't emanating even the slightest killing intent, "Slow your roll, pinkie," I smirked (that was how one portrayed social superiority, right?), "I wanted you to switch places with me."  
Her eyes bulged out of her sockets in excitement, before she narrowed them in suspicion, "This is a trick, right? Why would you willingly give up sitting next to Uchiha-san-kun?"  
I was now very exasperated, "Why would I put myself on the receiving end of all those insults and hatred? Nobody's worth that much to me."  
She shook her head as though that was the most bonkers thing anyone had ever said, "Uchiha-san-kun's totally worth it! But if you don't want him... I'll take that seat!" She squealed so loudly that everyone in the class must have heard it. Every fangirl seemed to realise that the seat next to Uchiha-san was unclaimed and they started fighting like hounds.  
The dark-blue haired girl behind me covered her eyes in embarrassment, "Oh, Sakura!" she whispered loudly enough for me to hear faintly through the ruckus. I smiled, at least someone agreed with me.  
It took me two days to classify my classmates. Most were average shinobi, nothing interesting. The lazybones who sat next to me was bearable, especially when I found out how good of a strategist he was. But I couldn't see any chance of him being all that willing to spar with me. The timid dork behind me was really shy, which might just be masking her power but judging by what I had noticed, she wouldn't help me prepare to catch Orochimaru. The blond bitch, who I found out was called Ino, was a Yamanaka. I didn't know exactly what that meant, but she was supposed to be good at getting into people's heads or something. The Aburame clan heir was powerful, I knew that much, and he would be good practice. So, I walked up to him in taijutsu class today. Shino turned to look at me before I even touched him, "I knew you would approach me." he said, "Why? Because I believe you wish to train with someone strong." I blinked; how did he know? Also, did I even ask him why I came?  
I schooled my face into an impassive look, "You'd be correct. Think you can help me?"  
Shino's face remained unresponsive, well, most of his face was hidden by his weird collar and his tiny goggle-like sunglasses (which he probably doesn't even need), "I believe we will be good sparring partners. Why? Because I've looked into the history of the Kaguya clan and have been most impressed." the way he blandly stated those words made me think he was being sarcastic, "If you can persevere through all that, then you will be a good opponent."  
I stared at his obscured eyes, "So you're accepting?" he nodded, "Sweet."  
Iruka-sensei clapped his hands, "So, who's wants to spar first?"  
I waved my hand wildly to get his attention, "Sensei, me and Shino will go first."  
Iruka-sensei smiled, "Good, alright then, take your positions."  
Shino faced me; his mostly covered face unreadable, holding up his fingers in the Seal of Confrontation. I turned towards Iruka-sensei, "So, can I use the Bone Dance technique or is that forbidden too?"  
He blinked for a few seconds before connecting the dots, "Er... no. The Bone Dance is a taijutsu technique, so you won't be restricted from using it."  
I nodded and held up my right hand in the Seal of confrontation as well. Shino zapped forward and struck quickly, but I was faster, I back pedaled away from him then spun around to kick him. I missed, leaving myself open for an attack. Shino punched me in the gut, as hard as he could. I was sent sprawling into the dirt and Shino yelped in pain and shock at his bleeding hand. I wasn't a fool; I had grown a membrane of bone under my stomach. He couldn't touch me quite so easily. I winced as I got up, that punch would bruise, no doubt about it. Shino wasn't doing so good, either, but he had managed to staunch the bleeding with his jacket. When he looked up at me, a tiny smirk was playing on his lips, "Interesting move. What was it?"  
I smiled back, "Fossil Defense. I never was much of an offensive person."  
He readied his stance again and I prepared myself to take his hits. It went on like this. Shino would try to go for an unprotected area, I would immediately armor-plate it so he ended up hurting himself. By the end, Shino was covered with bruises and some slight bleeding, he was gasping for breath. I was doing fine; my hair had become tangled and I was bruising from some portion of my face, but other than that I was completely fine. Iruka looked between the two and nodded, "Now, make the Seal of Reconciliation." The two of us joined our seals of confrontation and made the reconciliation one, to Iruka-sensei's approval. I didn't approve though, not at all. This was about me getting stronger, and I couldn't improve my taijutsu against opponents like Shino. He was skilled, yes, but more of a long-range fighter. I was on the hunt, and I was desperate. Kiba Inuzuka and Naruto Uzumaki were the ones I eventually turned my attention to. Kiba was heavily dependent on his mutt, and Naruto... something was off about him. I couldn't place it, exactly, but I knew he had incredible power, I just did. I didn't want to be on the opposite end of that power, not yet. The way everyone else avoided him like the plague made me think that they were afraid of his strength too, and were trying to get him to unconsciously repress his own strength in a bid to be accepted. I hated manipulators like that, but I would let them weave their own webs until they tangled with mine.  
So, with no option left, I chose to study and practice alone. I claimed a small grove near the edge of Konoha as my territory and trained there every day. I brought books and snacks, even had weapons buried here. I pored over diagrams of the human skeleton, working on the weird Dance Kimimaro had shown me; Willow Dance. It was incredibly complex, a real dance to the death. But, as I twirled and ducked, I had no idea how this would fare on the battlefield. I turned my attention to ninjutsu, deciding to start practicing the Water Clone jutsu. I studied and practiced with my Water Style jutsu, borrowing books from the library on chakra control exercises and tips to speed up the process of learning a whole new jutsu. Now I was heading towards my little grove with my little water bucket, six months in from my arrival at Konoha, intent on making at least five Water Clones today. When I got there, surprise, surprise, someone was there, practicing their kata. You can imagine who it was because I didn't immediately scare him off my territory. Yes, it was that foolish friend Uchiha-san. He did stupid stuff from time to time, like inadvertently almost made me Fangirl Enemy No.1, but I had been nothing but coolly polite to him for nearly six months, so maybe he had been served justice. He seemed incredibly angry at that moment and I wondered if I was as angry inside as he was. (I wasn't.) I just quietly sat and set my bucket down. I made the Tiger hand sign and pooled my chakra, concentrating on my clone. Some of the water came up and moulded itself into a perfect copy of me, and the solid colours slowly faded into the clone. I wiped my brow, that was exhausting, I wasn't used to such strenuous activity. I hesitantly touched the clone and yelped when I felt solid bone and flesh. Uchiha-san spun around, just now realising I was there, "Are you stalking me?" he immediately demanded.  
I looked at him in a way that I hoped said, 'Are you freaking kidding me?', "No, I'm not. In fact, this is my training yard and you're not really welcome here. I was practicing."  
Uchiha-san glanced at the copy of me with an unimpressed air, "Haven't you ever done the Clone jutsu before?"  
I rolled my eyes, "Course I have, doofus. This isn't an illusion, though. It's more tangible, it's a Water Clone."  
Uchiha-san looked vaguely impressed, but unbelieving. He edged forward and grabbed the hand of the clone. Aqua-me decided that that moment was the best time to come to life. She snapped a glare at Uchiha-san and judo-flipped him at my feet, before dispelling back into the bucket. I winced and helped him up, "Oh, I'm sorry. I really wouldn't actually do that." Half-Lie. I might kick him where the sun doesn't shine first, then judo-flip him.  
Uchiha-san chuckled when he got up, "It's okay. I saw your sparring match with Shino."  
I tilted my head, "What about it?"  
He glared at the grass, as if he was ashamed at having to ask, "Can you show me how you did that bone armor thing? Is it really hard?"  
I paused for a second, letting the words sink in, before letting a chuckle escaped my lips. The short sarcastic laugh subsided to uncontrollable giggles. After all the bloodshed, the fighting, the loneliness and pain, this was the first time I had ever laughed. All the laughter saved up for nearly years came pouring out, and I found out, it felt good to laugh. It made no sense, making a sound by exhaling air shouldn't make you feel good, it shouldn't feel like a dam had broken and two boulders had been lifted off of you, but it did anyways. I ended up on the ground, clutching my chest, tears glistening off my cheeks. With a very annoyed Uchiha-san glaring at me. He half-heartedly and very lightly kicked my shaking form, grunted, "Hn." then stalked off. I shook my head and ran after him, "Wait, no, it's not hard. It's just that you can't learn it. It's my kekkei genkai."  
His eyebrows scrunched together, "What?"  
I rolled my eyes, "You've got to know about the Kaguya clan, right? Insane clan wiped out by Kirigakure, like, three years ago?" Complete confusion, alright then, "We have the ability to manipulate our bone structures."  
He nodded slowly, "When did you unlock it?"  
He sounded almost upset when he asked that, "When I was three or four, I don't really remember it clearly."  
He made a choking sound, "So you were able to unlock it when you were three? How?!" Oh, that's right. The Uchiha had a kekkei genkai too! I forgot that portion of Kabuto's lessons!  
"Not all kekkei genkai have the same rate of development. Besides, it's worse for me you know."  
"How? You unlocked it! Your entire clan must have been proud of you!" He snapped out.  
The kid gloves were off. He wants to prove who's got the most shitty life? He got what he wanted. "Yeah, you could say that. I was the second person in the entire clan to unlock it at the time. Everyone else who managed to do it died young because of their nonexistent immune systems." Pause, "Then, they locked me in a cage for THREE YEARS. I was trained to fight, to care about nothing and no one. I was starved and beaten and completely isolated. All because of their need for a soldier." Something hot was spilling over the sides of my eyes. Tears? Uchiha-san was staring at me in shocked silence, "I never saw my actual family ever again. Until I was pushed by own kin as a frontline fighter in a fricking WAR when I was SIX! I never wanted to be alive. It's a miracle I'm here at all. Now I'm an outcast because of my stupid ability and even if I know it doesn't matter because they are all weaker than me... It. Still. Hurts."  
Uchiha-san was still frozen, then he quickly wrapped me into a hug, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked." he finally said, ashamed. I nodded, and we turned away to go back to practicing before Uchiha-san turned to me, "This never happened, okay?" I nodded, smirking, before continuing to practice my Water clone jutsu. I managed to do much better than what had happened with Uchiha-san, my clones even managing to throw practice kunai at targets with precision. It was nothing much, since I couldn't do more than two clones at a time and even that drained my chakra ridiculously fast. I dragged my bucket of water behind me through the woods, my feet on autopilot. I was able to hold on until I reached the orphanage, but by the time I got to the steps, I was so tired, I collapsed.  
I was shaken awake when the matron lifted me up clumsily and took me inside. I was placed into one of the seats of my regular dining table in the rather cramped dining room. Children talked and screamed, toys whistled through the air and the occasional foodstuff was thrown. I couldn't abide most of the kids there, but some of them were okay. Case in point, the boy who was carving his name into the table. Remember Kaito? Yeah, turns out he and his little posse of street urchins and delinquents weren't just limited to the Orphanage. They had all sorts of backgrounds and many were ninjas. No joke, actual extremely humorous genin and chunin hung out with these kids and helped them pull their stunts. Their information was probably only second-best to the ANBU and T&I department. He was civilian, if he wasn't, I might have lowered myself enough to spar with him. He waved at me when I finally became capable of coherent thought, "You pushed yourself too hard today, Kimiko! You should've seen Aoi-chan's face!" he cried out. Aoi was another person I could bear. She was the one who distracted some of the girls who chased Kaito, but she was a recent addition to our group. She had curly aqua blue hair that reached her shoulders, with black eyes like coal, and she was making her way across the room towards me. I was not cowed by a young girl who was slightly shorter than me and definitely lighter. No, I just thought that would be a good idea to scarf down my food as quickly as possible, I definitely was not looking for an excuse to avoid either answering or eye contact. Of course not. Anyways, Aoi made her way over to the two of us and glared at me. I uncomfortably continued eating, not breaking my gaze with her. I was not going to give her the pleasure of winning a staring contest, and getting to chew me out. She was the one to give first. Well, more like a badly aimed –or well-aimed, for me –toss of a spoonful of rice with curry flew in from the table behind her and landed in her hair. Aoi is rather sensitive about her hair, being the only one in the orphanage with a mane like that, and she was quick to take offence. She spun on the spot, her coal eyes on fire, "WHO DID THAT?" she screamed. Everyone on that table silently pointed towards one kid, who was trembling in front of his plate of, what looked like, curry. Aoi's eyes glinted dangerously and with a war cry that would send any front-line fighter trembling –I was a former front-line fighter and I wasn't scared easy– she jumped the kid. One of the caretakers gasped as plates went flying and the boy got nailed to the floor. It took several women to finally hold the two back. The matron shouted and screamed at the them for five minutes and then Aoi came back, looking as if she had just gone to get a drink. I shivered, Aoi was scary for a civvie. Aoi turned back to me, "Hey, are you okay? Your chakra reserves seem really low." her tone was now surprisingly light, maybe all the aggression leaked out when she was scrabbling with the kid who beaned her with curry?  
Her concern touched me, "I'm fine. You don't have to mother-hen me." I huff as I pushed her away and continued eating.  
Aoi smiled at my reaction, and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like, "At least you're coherent." or something.  
The next day, Uchiha-san was back in my training zone. I didn't say anything, just continued practicing my Water clones. By the end of the week, I could make five simultaneously without passing out. Uchiha-san continued encroaching upon my practice field. I began studying up on the Camelia Dance; a rather disconcerting jutsu involving disconnecting my ulna and radius, sharpening the former into a razor-sharp blade, easing the humeral head out of its socket and yanking the whole arm out, leaving the bones of my hand left alone, dangling to my radius. Uchiha-san practiced alone, working on ninjutsu and laws and facts about genjutsu. We paid each other no mind. Well, I tried not to. I had grown somewhat accustomed to isolation, and the fact that anyone would be willing to 'hang out' with me is alien. So, naturally, when we had our first lesson in the torture and interrogation class, I was incredibly eager to test out my newly learnt skills. "What is your endgame?" I asked as I twirled a bone shuriken as big as my face.  
Uchiha-san matched my steely gaze effortlessly, in an I-can't-be-bothered way, "What's that supposed to mean?"  
I let out a short bark of laughter, "Why are you hanging out with me?"  
Uchiha-san grunted, "Hn, if that's why you're asking, it's not because I like you. It's because you scare the annoying girls away."  
I pointed my shuriken at him, fusing the bone into my skeleton and lengthening it easily into the form of a kunai just the right length to brush past his neck. Uchiha-san, not being an idiot, backed up several paces. I immediately absorbed the weapon into my bones, but I did the whole action so quickly that it looked more like the shuriken expanded into a kunai than immediately dissolved into my sleeve. I smiled at him crookedly, "That is a good answer."  
Uchiha-san looked around uncomfortably, "I guess so..."  
I laughed and clasped his shoulder, "So are we friends?"  
Uchiha-san glared at me and shook my arm off, "Maybe."


	3. The illness One-shot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, Kimiko gets sick. Yeah, basically. This will be right before a time skip to canon. The background is that I accidentally deleted the full 4000 word chapter and this one-shot was all that I recovered from it.

Sasuke looked towards the seat closest to the door, where Kimiko-chan always sat. It was empty. It had been empty for nearly a week now, and it was scaring him. The two of them weren't really friends. They weren't! Kimiko-chan was really strong, and he needed her help to train, so he could kill Itachi. She needed him to get stronger, so she could hunt down Orochimaru. They didn't do much else, except when Kimiko-chan decided that her social skills needed work and she had Sasuke help her with seeming 'non-threatening' and 'approachable' which usually involved either reading books on human behaviour or stalking random kids from class since she apparently learnt better when seeing it done first hand. She usually ignored him, in fact, always scanning the crowds and locating potential threats; he thought it was cute how uptight she always was, overthinking everything about her class, always overestimating them. They had an agreement, they would help each other get stronger. He also thought she was willing to train with him because every so often they needed food, and he WAS loaded so he naturally had to pay for everything she ordered, but it was fine. Hell, she didn't even know what OMUSUBI was. She deserved all the food she wanted. But… back on topic, she was missing. He stayed back when class ended and walked up to Iruka-Sensei, who was grading papers. "Iruka-Sensei?" He asked  
The Chūnin instructor smiled softly, "Yeah, Sasuke?"  
"Where's Kimiko-chan? She hasn't been in school for a while and, I was wondering…"  
Iruka Sensei looked in his register, "Oh, yeah! Kimiko-chan is on sick leave. She would be in the hospital right now."  
Sasuke felt a weight lift off of his shoulders. "Arigato, Sensei!" He said as he walked away.  
His little feet found his way to the hospital's reception desk, "Ano… where is Kaguya Kimiko's room?" He asked the lady in charge.  
She looked through her clipboard, "Hm... Oh, right! She's in the Quarantine Section! Room 314, and please, don't go near her, she's barely hanging on as it is."  
Sasuke felt anxiety spark in him as her made his way up the stairs to the Quarantine Section, had she got some incurable disease? Had she been attacked? Compromised? Poisoned?! Was this BIOWARFARE?! By the time he got to his destination, his breaths were shallow and fast. A young girl with curly blue hair that barely came up to her shoulders was sitting in one of the chairs. She turned to him when he walked up, black eyes observing him with clinical interest, "She's not awake yet. The fever took everyone by surprise. Her immune system is really weird, so they had to run some tests to figure out what is safe for her or not."  
Sasuke nodded dumbly, "What happened, exactly?"  
The girl looked away, "Apparently, the thing has been identified as influenza. We caught on to it pretty quick, and chances of her dying are… uncertain."  
Sasuke fidgeted, "Is it that bad?"  
Aoi looked at him cautiously, "We can talk to her. In a bit."  
So they waited, in awkward silence. Well, Sasuke thought it was awkward. The blue-haired girl didn't even seem to notice it. Then a frazzled Chūnin opened the door. He had bags under his eyes and he was barely eighteen years old, "You, guys… can come in. Man, why did they have to make this a C-rank?!"  
Aoi quirked a brow as they walked in, "Because making sure the only female Kaguya capable of using the Shikotsumyako survives this is an important and dangerous job?"  
Dangerous? Sasuke felt like asking, but a sneeze suddenly sounded, punctuated with a razor sharp price of bone literally inches beside his neck. He recoiled, his unspoken question answered. Kimiko was lying on the bed, her bones writhing around just under her skin as if they were alive, and several other bones and cracks in the walls proved that this wasn't the first time it had happened. He shivered, this was a job he didn't want to do. "Kimiko? Will you be able to continue training with me once this is over?" He asked, seemingly uncaring.  
Kimiko blearily opened an eye, before suddenly flipping around and vomiting into a bucket. She wiped her mouth when she resurfaced, her eyes unfocused and hazy, "Count on it, Aniki. I still need to catch that snake bastard."  
He blinked, "What..."  
Aoi just looked at her sadly, "She's still in a fever dream. The doctors have her flying pretty high with all the meds. She probably won't even remember this exchange." Oh…  
"Well, even if you don't remember, do me a favour and don't die. We still need to kill our hated people."  
She turned to him with a new glint in her dull olive eyes, "Count on it. I don't believe I will ever be strong enough to kill Orochimaru, but I will always assist whoever is. *yawn* yeah.… no illness will ever floor me."


	4. Time skip!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No in depth summaries or notes for the first eleven~ chapters. But Kimiko is put on Team 7 with Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto. I know that's cliche but work with me.

I flopped onto the sofa as soon as I entered. Kaito looked up disinterestedly from a manga he was reading, "I'm guessing being a ninja isn't as swell as you thought?"

I groaned at him, "Aren't you supposed to be doing homework?"

He shrugged, "Homework can wait. So, how'd it go?"

I shifted around so my mouth was shoved into the sofa, "I'm put into a team with Sasuke-"

"That's cool."

"Haruno Sakura, this bitchy fangirl who deserves to die, and Uzumaki Naruto."

"Who's that?"

"Blond hyperactive kid. Alright when you get to know him, kind of two-dimensional, but at least I can work with him."

"I don't really see the problem. Why're you telling me this?"

I ignored his comment, "Haruno-san hates my guts because I'm better friends with Sasuke. Sasuke hates Haruno-san because she doesn't take ninja training seriously. Naruto-kun has a crush on Haruno-san, who hates him because he's not quite bright. While Sasuke and Naruto-kun have a stupid rivalry hatred of each other because of this." I explained, whipping out the picture I had taken of Sasuke and Naruto-kun locking lips.

Kaito's eyes bugged out, and he looked like he was about to explode by containing his laughter, "Let me guess; this was an accident?" I nodded and he barked out a laugh, "Oh man! That must be embarrassing! Now, what about your sensei?"

I twisted around and looked up at the ceiling, "Kakashi Hatake. Remember him?"

Kaito arched his eyebrow, "Wasn't he the one who rescued you from Orochimaru?"

"Yep." I agreed, popping my lips

"Then it can't be that bad. He knows you well." Kaito said, his gaze shifting to his manga, "Can I go back to reading now please?"

"No. Mangas can wait. Besides, it's dangerous. Kakashi-sensei is a ninja. He saw me bawling my head of when I was a child. It was my darkest hour. I was kinda hoping I wouldn't run into anyone who had ever seen me like that."

Kaito agreed, "Makes sense."

"He's gotten more devious, too! Turns out tomorrow we'll be having a final test! There's a 66% chance of failure!"

Kaito whistled, "That is devious! I'm impressed. Tell me more about this test of doom."

I poked him, "Don't get any ideas, idiot. It's a survival exercise, not sure of the details. He wouldn't say. But we're supposed to be there at 5 o'clock, without breakfast."

Kaito's stomach grumbled, "Wow, I had lunch three hours ago and I'm already hungry! How will you survive?"

I twisted the bones on my skull to make devil horns to amuse myself, Kaito freaked out whenever I did that particular trick, "Apparently, if we eat, we'll puke. But it's gotta be a trick, right?"

Kaito sauntered over to the fridge, "Yeah, obviously. Even if it isn't, are you really afraid of a little puke? I mean, if you don't eat, and whatever the competition is, is so bad that you're in danger of puking, then bile is still gonna come up, right?"

He was right, in a way. I had seen war, fought on the front-lines when I was a kid, I had puked possibly a hundred times when I was with Orochimaru and had to suffer his killing intent. I wasn't afraid of puking, so I should call his bluff. Assuming it was a bluff. This was stupid, why was I second-guessing myself? This was just a step to catching Orochimaru. I was so close...

I woke up the next day at four o'clock. I put on my ripped jeans and green jacket with a red sleeveless shirt underneath. I wrapped my ninja tool box around my left knee and smiled into the mirror. I walked out of my room, to the kitchen, where Aoi had steamed some rice for breakfast. I pulled some miso soup out from the fridge and heated it up. There was some grilled fish in the tiny cupboard which we had decided to call the pantry. I pulled out some dried seaweed and made a bowl of cereal as well. I ate quickly, then grabbed four packed bento boxes and headed out. I met the three of them at the training field we had been assigned to. We hung out for a while, sitting or standing for what seemed like hours. Haruno-san's stomach was the first to give in. She looked really embarrassed at the loud rumble, looking back at Sasuke to see if he had noticed. I sighed and pulled out the bento box from by bag, "Here. Have some."

Haruno-san shot me a look of disgust, "Sensei told us not to eat breakfast, Fossil Freak! Don't you ever listen?"

I shot her an I-don't-care glare. When you hang out with Sasuke, you learn to make your glares say many different things, "I do listen. That's why I know it was a suggestion. I'm not scared of a little puke. If you're squeamish, then why are you even a ninja?"

Haruno-san hesitated but slapped the bento box away, "A ninja should also learn to persevere under harsh circumstances. So, you don't have the stomach to be a real ninja."

I rolled my eyes, "Do you really think that practicing your hunger tolerance is a good idea in a test like this?"

Doubt flickered on her face, but too late, I chucked the bento box at Sasuke, who caught it effortlessly and dug in. I smiled at Naruto-kun and handed the box to him, "You want some? It'll really help today."

Naruto-kun smiled, "Thanks, Kimiko-chan! You're really nice!"

I nodded in gratitude and went back to practicing. When the two boys had finished, they shoved the empty food boxes into their bags, just in time for Kakashi-sensei to pop out of the woods like the awful asshole he is. After he was yelled at by Naruto-kun for being late, he explained the rules, "Here we go. It's set for noon. The rules are simple, get these three bells by noon. If you don't succeed by noon, you'll be tied to a post and will watch me eat my lunch." Haruno-san's stomach rumbled and she looked slightly guilty. I must have looked incredibly smug.

Haruno-san piped up, "Wait a minute, why are there three bells when there are four of us?"

Kakashi-sensei chuckled, "That way, at least one of you will fail and be sent back to the Academy. Then again, all four of you might flunk out as well. You can use any weapons, including shuriken. If you don't come at me with the intent to kill, you won't succeed."

Haruno-san was obviously unnerved, the little scaredy cat, "Those weapons are too dangerous sensei!"

I stared her down, "What are you, a baby? Shuriken and kunai are the most basic weapon there is. Don't tell me you can't handle them!" Haruno-san's face went red with anger and embarrassment.

Naruto-kun cackled, "No sweat, Kimiko-chan! If he couldn't dodge that eraser then he won't be too hard to take down!"

Kakashi turned towards him, "Class clowns are the weakest links. You can safely ignore them. Lowest scores, losers." that got Naruto-kun's attention. He growled and pulled out a kunai and charged towards Kakashi-sensei. I contemplated tripping him as he ran past me, but I decided to let my team-mates see what exactly we were up against. Kakashi grabbed Naruto-kun's wrist, twisting it around so the kunai was pointed at Naruto-kun's head. It happened so fast, I could only blink before he neutralized the threat. "Don't be in such a rush." he chided, "I didn't say start yet." He released Naruto-kun and I could see newfound respect for our sensei in my squad mates' eyes. "But... you came at me with the full intention of destroying me. I think I'm finally starting to like you guys. Get ready and... start!"

Sasuke and Haruno-san ran to hide. I chucked a water bottle behind a bush and melted into the ensuing puddle. Naruto-kun... he just stood there. I shook my head. What is he trying to prove? He had a shit-eating grin on his face, "You and me! Right here, right now! Fair and square, let's go!" I would have groaned, but I was just water at that point.

Kakashi seemed really confused as well, "You know... compared to the rest, you're a little a weird."

Naruto-kun wasn't put off, good for him, I suppose. "Oh, yeah? The only thing weird here is your haircut!" He raised and excellent point. What was with the hair? It defied gravity, and it hadn't changed at all since when I last saw him three years ago. He charged Kakashi-sensei, but he reached into his ninja tool pack and Naruto-kun, wisely, backed up.

"Shinobi battle technique number one," Kakashi drawled, "Taijustu; the physical art." Naruto-kun seemed really confused. Can't blame him, so was I. He was obviously reaching for a weapon. Then he yanked out what he was reaching for. It was a book, a very familiar book. Now I'm interested, he still hadn't finished Paradise?! How? It was a tiny book! He had been reading the same book for five years! What sort of crazy book is this? Naruto-kun seemed really confused when Kakashi started reading it, "What are you waiting for, kid? Make your move." Kakashi encouraged. How nice of him. I hate him so much. Naruto-kun went in for the bait, uselessly punching him. I needed to help him so bad, I melted out of the puddle and started flipping through hand signs as Naruto-kun had him distracted. I built up the chakra in my mouth, then charged so he was in the range of my Violent Bubble Wave. High pressure water burst out of my mouth, nearly, nearly hitting Kakashi-sensei in the back, but he quickly side-stepped. Naruto-kun growled and dodged out of the way. He shot me a glare and I sent him a pointed look. We came at an agreement almost instantaneously; but the nonverbal conversation went something like this:

N: Why'd you nearly hit me?!

K: I was aiming for Sensei!

N: I got this. I can do it myself.

K: No, you can't. I'm helping.

N: Go away.

K: I will murder you if I lose.

N: You can help me.

K: Thanks. You won't regret this!

I swung around and Digital Shrapnel-ed him. Kakashi swung towards me, but I activated Willow Dance when he finally landed a punch. Bones struck outward, nearly trapping his hand. Naruto-kun took out a kunai and tried to make a mad grab for the bells. Kakashi hit him with a roundhouse kick, and I took the opportunity to hit him with a Water Wall jutsu. He was too quick for me though, and stepped forward from where the Wall was supposed to erupt, so it didn't send him flying nor did it shield me from his attacks. He looked somewhat surprised, in a good way. "You shouldn't have the chakra for such an attack."

I growled, and pulled out a kunai, ready to fight. He just flipped through some more hand signs. Oddly familiar hand signs. By the time he yelled out, "Water Style! Water Bomb jutsu!" I couldn't get out of the way and was slammed into a tree. I groaned, and turned around to survey my surroundings.

I noted Sasuke looking at me from underneath his bush, "Hey, buddy! Care to help me?" I croaked out. Never let it be said that I don't have a sense of humor. My impassive face isn't very good at conveying my emotions but let me assure you, I'm a very funny person.

Sasuke just glared at me, "You can't have lost to him that easily." he grunted.

I rolled my eyes and glared back, "Hey, if it wasn't for me, you'd starve!"

Sasuke just shook his head, "Hn."

Naruto-kun was back on his feet, already making a hand-sign. They popped out all around him twenty exact copies. I rolled my eyes, please, clones won't do anything for him. The clones charged Kakashi and attacked him. Each of them made contact, so they weren't illusions. They were Shadow Clones! Sasuke nodded, "He's better than I thought."

Kakashi-sensei was still worryingly smug, "You talk like you're the best. But you're still the worst. You can't beat with this."

The clones charged and Kakashi's eyes bulged as someone grabbed him from behind. I hummed, "A diversionary tactic! He planned this out well!"

Sasuke smirked, "Impressive for him."

Okay, now or never, "He's got good strength, but not much good in the planning department, is he?"

Sasuke looked at me, "What do you mean?"

I shrugged nonchalantly, "I don't much about what the hell is going on, but it seems to me that if Naruto-kun and I had actually planned something out, we might have gotten the jump on him."

Sasuke thought about it, "Well, maybe? I don't know."

I turned my attention back to the scene, where Naruto-kun went in to strike Kakashi. As soon as he made contact, Naruto-kun ended up slamming his fist into one of his clones. Before I knew it, the clones had started squabbling amongst themselves. "That fell apart fast." I commented, "My point is, that if me and Naruto-kun got so close to the bells by working together. Imagine how much easier it would be to catch him by working with me."

I really thought he was gonna agree for once, but he just scoffed, "Save your breath. You'll only slow me down." and he ran away. I groaned and turned back to Naruto-kun to see what he had gotten himself into. By this time, he was dangling from a tree by a rope, trying to grab a bell.

But Kakashi sensei grabbed it before Naruto-kun could even reach for it, "Think before you use a jutsu." he suggested, "Or else your opponent can use it against you. Also, if the bait is obvious. Don't take it." And I told this kid he was good at traps?! What was I thinking? Then, completely out of nowhere, shuriken zapped out and struck him. I retraced their route and spotted Sasuke and gave him a thumbs-up.

Naruto-kun was a little less pleased, "ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND, SASUKE?! You went too far!" I tensed, and the falling figure of sensei turned into a log. Substitution jutsu. Of course. I felt like an idiot that I had been fooled by it. Sakura-san and Sasuke immediately dashed off. I ran forward to free Naruto-kun.

"So, what's the plan?" I asked impassively.

Naruto-kun glared at me, "I thought you were supposed to be helping me! Where did you go?"

"I was dazed when I hit the tree." I lied, easily. The little idiot fell for it.

"Wow, the Water Bomb sure hit hard." he observed.

I nodded, "So, what should we do?"

He shrugged, "Don't ask me, I'm not good at planning."

I took a breath and thought about the assignment. Like, really thought about it. What Kakashi-sensei had said about seeing through deception had struck a chord in me. So, I sat and forced myself to find the deception, to see underneath the underneath. "We're supposed to work together." I finally said.

Naruto-kun looked at me like I had lost my mind, "But we are working together."

"Yes, I can see that." I snapped, "Everything about this challenge has been set up to put us against each other. But he hasn't specifically stated that we are competing against each other, that we should fight with each other. I'm guessing this exercise is about our teamwork. It's the only thing we haven't learnt about at the Academy."

Naruto-kun nodded, "Yeah! You're right! So, for us to win, we have to put our differences aside and work together!" then he paused, "No way! I'm not working together with Sasuke! I don't need his help."

Oh, brother, this again. There had to be a way to reach him, you know. It seemed impossible, but ultimately, it clicked in me. "But Sasuke might need your help." I said, "He's gonna try getting the bells on his own, and he's going to lose. We should watch him fail. It'll be fun."

Naruto-kun grinned wickedly, "Yeah! That sounds awesome!" then he glared suspiciously at me, "Wait a minute, you're Sasuke's friend, aren't you? Why're you helping me."

Good question on his part. I had to scramble to find an answer, "He's so stuck-up! It'll be fun to watch him get knocked down a peg or two. Besides, we can use him as a distraction to get the bells. And if I was his friend, I would have given him this extra bento box, but I'm giving it to you instead. It says something about me, right?" I baited him, waving a bento box in front of his face.

He smiled and grabbed the bento box, eating quickly, "Thanks, Kimiko! You're a good friend! Now, about your plan, tell me what it is!" I grinned and started whispering into his ear. As I whispered, his smile started brightening. "Well then, what're we waiting for? Let's go!" He yelled and took off into the trees with me at his heels.

We found Sasuke buried up to his neck in the soil. Naruto-kun had a good laugh at that. Laugh wasn't accurate, more like he fell into an uncontrollable fit of violent cackling. Sasuke glared at both of us, more so at Naruto-kun, "Are you done?" he deadpanned.

Naruto-kun nodded, "Yeah, just about. So, listen, we've got this brilliant plan to get the bells, but we need your help."

"Forget it. I'm not helping you two, I can get the bells by myself!" Sasuke scoffed

I rolled my eyes, and knelt down I could meet his eyes, "How exactly do you plan on getting out of the earth? You know he's stronger than all of us combined. But if we play our cards right, I think we can just swing it."

Sasuke rolled his eyes, "I don't see why Naruto-kun has to be a part of this."

"Cut him some slack, Sasuke. You saw the Multi-Shadow Clone jutsu, right? That's an A-rank jutsu. Which is also known as an impressive technique." I defended.

"Yeah, Sasuke, cut me some slack!" Naruto-kun repeated.

Sasuke growled, "Fine, get me out of here, then we'll talk."

I nodded, "Done." Naruto-kun made some shadow clones and I reached down with the bones of my feet to reach Sasuke's hands and yank them up. With a little digging, Naruto-kun and I got him out easily. Sasuke brushed his pants off, "Thanks." he said grudgingly, "I appreciate it. Now, what's this plan?" I grinned and started whispering. When I was done, Sasuke's eyes gleamed a little, "That could work." he admitted, "But I don't trust you." he said, pointing at Naruto-kun, "I'm only doing this because Kimiko doesn't make any rash decisions. She thinks things through."

"I'm honored." I replied drily, but inside, I was bursting. That was the nicest thing someone had ever told me! "Now, let's get moving."

We found Kakashi-sensei in the middle of the field, reading his stupid smut. Naruto-kun charged out, yelling and dashing, with a kunai at the ready. Kakashi seemed a little surprised to see him, but he quickly regained his composure and continued reading the book while dodging Naruto-kun's attacks. Sasuke nodded at me and both of us started moving towards our positions. I started scanning the area, looking for Sakura-san. Sure enough, there she was, under the bush. I quickly made my way towards her.

Naruto-kun dodged out of the blast radius as Sasuke jumped up and sent a fireball towards Kakashi Sensei. The two immediately changed their positions. Sasuke landed next to me and I smirked; my turn. Kakashi eventually came out from under the ground as there was no one to attack. Thank Kami, Sasuke warned us about that one. I nodded at Sasuke, my jaw set tight, we had only thirty minutes left. I transformed into a kunai and Sasuke grabbed me, mixing me up with a horde of other kunai before heading in for the second assault. He threw a couple of kunai, including me, at him, which he dodged. Sasuke quickly engaged in hand-to-hand combat and Kakashi-sensei sounded vaguely impressed, "Well, I'm guessing you've learnt from your previous mistake." Sasuke grunted and hit Kakashi as hard as he could. Naruto-kun caught him from behind, which he very quickly deflected. The two tag-teamed him, fending off his jutsu then moving in to attack once the effect wore off. Kakashi-sensei eventually moved back just enough for me to break the transformation and show up directly behind him. I grabbed the bells and yanked them out.

Naruto-kun grinned, "Did we do it?" Sasuke smiled slightly, wiping beads of sweat off of his face.

I looked at the bells, and swore, "Dammit! I got only two!"

The other two let out exhausted groans, "Great! Now, what?" Sasuke complained, "We've got barely twenty minutes!"

Kakashi smiled, "Well, you seemed to have figured out a solution, haven't you? But here's a tip, strategize out of your opponent's earshot." he sounded so smug and collected but it was obvious we had given him at least a workout.

We nodded and ran off into the woods, "Sorry, guys, we'll have to think of something else." I muttered, "But if we don't end up getting it on time, then you can keep the two bells."

Sasuke growled, "No way! That wasn't your fault! If anything, Naruto-kun should've been paying more attention!"

Naruto-kun gritted his teeth, "Why you..." lightning was sparking between them and I sighed,

"This isn't anyone's fault. We're on a time crunch, so let's focus."

That seemed to bring them back to earth, "Right." they nodded in unison.

We started to talk. We put the plan together as fast as we could. I stood up suddenly, "Be right back, guys. Keep working on it." they nodded.

I snuck around the trees, creeping up on Sakura-san until I was right beside her. I poked her on the shoulder, "Hey, Sakura-san!"

She yelped and backed away, before realizing it was just me and scowling, "What do you want Fossil Freak?" she snapped.

I wanted to snap at her too, but I had only one chance. I though quickly, what does she like? What can I offer her? The lightbulb that flicked on in my head was so obvious I wondered why I hadn't seen it before, "Sasuke doesn't really hate you." I mentioned lightly.

Sakura-san turned towards at the mention of Sasuke, "What do you mean?"

I shrugged, twirling my ashy grey hair around my finger like I had seen some fangirls do in the Academy, "I think he's really fond of you."

Sakura-san's eyes must have turned into hearts in that moment, "REALLY?!" she squealed.

I shuddered; this girl was a sonic weapon! "Well, you know, he could be, if you were stronger."

Sakura-san eyes went downcast, "Oh."

Oh, no, I was losing her. Gotta think fast, think fast, "He likes girls who can think for themselves. Who're serious konoichi."

Sakura-san's teeth gritted, "I am a serious konoichi!" Jeez, this girl swung through ten different emotions in the space of ten minutes.

"Well, he doesn't know that." I said, trying to keep my voice as sickly sweet as possible, "Besides, a good konoichi should know the importance of working together as team, even if it is with people you don't like." If that was the only way konoichi standards were tested, I'd be the best konoichi in the world; putting up with this loser.

Sakura-san seemed to get the message, "So you want me to work with you to get the last bell?" she asked, before scrunching up her nose, "How do I know you won't take the bell for yourself?"

I sighed, at least she was cautious. It was a good sign, "Because you'll be the one grabbing the bell." I could still see the doubt shadowing her face so I quickly tipped the scales in my favor, "Look, I don't want to this either, but Sasuke told me you'd be a good addition to our squad."

The heart eyes were back, whoopee! "He actually said that?" she swooned.

He didn't really, but I lied easily, "Yeah. He even told me to give you this." I handed her a bento box, "It was supposed to be his, but he told me you'd like it more." Lie, lie, lie. I'm not that convincing of a liar. Everyone who knows me should know this. Inexperienced people tend to look at my face, which I have fallen into the habit of keeping completely impassive. Kaito thinks I've made it a habit but I'm semi-convinced that I'm just not very good at expressing my emotions through my face. People who know me should know to look past my emotions and check my voice to see if I'm lying, but Sakura-san didn't know me and she ate it all up when she saw my serene face smiling at her. (Figuratively and Literally; she ate the bento box and believed my stupid unreal lies.)

"Sure, I'll do anything to help Sasuke-kun!" she purred as she put the box in my bag, "What do I do?"

I smiled wickedly, "Naruto-kun, Sasuke and I will guide Kakashi-sensei back towards this tree. You will hide in the branches with this bag. When he is right underneath you, jump down with my bag open and shove it over his head. It'll buy you a couple seconds to grab a bell. Got it?"

She nodded, "Got it." I turned to leave but then she called back to me, "I'm only doing this for Sasuke, understand? I still hate you, Fossil Freak." I smiled; the same old stupid Sakura-san was back.

When I returned, Sasuke turned towards me, "Here, Kimiko. We've finalized the plan, what do you think?"

I took a look at the diagrams etched into the sand as Naruto-kun explained and nodded in satisfaction, they were getting good at this. "Yeah, that'll work. But he'll expect that. How about this...?" I said, drawing some more.

The other two nodded, and Naruto-kun jumped up, "Come on then! We've got only fifteen minutes!"

We hurried to where Kakashi-sensei was. He was still in the middle of the field, next to the river reading his book, but subtly looking around. Naruto-kun dived underwater further upstream, and started swimming down, Sasuke moved to another tree to get a better angle for launching shuriken. I let out a breath and tried to control my trembling. As soon as Naruto-kun was in position, I activated Water Walls that sprang up, caging Kakashi-sensei inside with Naruto-kun and his Shadow Clones; there was only one weak spot and that led towards our trap. As the clones engaged him, Sasuke started launching shuriken, kunai and fireballs. Not all of them hit properly, but they were enough to keep him going in the direction they wanted. Finally, Kakashi stepped backward and Sakura-san jumped down, slamming my bag on top of Kakashi-sensei's head. It bought only a few seconds but that was all it took to grab the last bell. We grinned and high-fived, even though Sasuke and Naruto-kun looked really confused, "I thought you said there was a trap in that tree." Sasuke complained stiffly.

I rolled my eyes, "So, it was an ambush, not a trap. But you wouldn't be all that willing to help out if you knew that Sakura-san would be in this."

Sasuke glared, "Hn. I guess you're right."

Kakashi smiled down at all of us, "Well, you surprised me, I'll admit it. I'm kind of impressed that you figured it out yourself."

Naruto-kun looked around, "Kimiko realized it first. She got the rest of us to work together."

Okay, what?! I mean, Naruto-kun was actually standing up for me, even if it might end up with him getting sent back to the Academy, the fact that he was taking that risk for me made me feel warm and fuzzy inside, "I see she's the only one without a bell as well, interesting." Kakashi-sensei noted. It just seemed to occur to the others that yes, I didn't have a bell. I saw them all exchange panicked glances. Clueless idiots.

"I figured, I'm the only person who will be able to handle getting sent back to the Academy. So, I had to be the one without a bell." I replied.

Was that pride in his eye? Nah, can't be. "Well, then. I've got good news for you. You passed." We must have looked dumbstruck because he repeated it again, "You. Passed. All of you. Especially you, Kimiko. You took a bullet for the rest for your team-mates, regardless of the consequences for you. That takes courage. I'll meet you tomorrow for our first mission."

I smiled and fist-bumbed with Sasuke and hugged Naruto-kun, then I looked at Sakura-san and promptly ignored her. If she was put off, I couldn't tell. I was one step closer to catching Orochimaru!


	5. The Wave Mission!!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another cliche. Kimiko kicks butt with Sasuke!

Kimiko. I'm in point D" I said into my comm. I crouched behind a tree, my breathing easy and relaxed. No point in getting worked up, or my enemy might sense me.

"Sasuke. I'm at point B." Sasuke reported, over the comms that Kakashi-sensei had provided us.

"Sakura. I'm in point C." Sakura informed.

"Naruto! I'm at point A, believe it!" Naruto excitedly exclaimed.

"So slow, Naruto." Kakashi-sensei chided, "Okay. Move in to apprehend the target." there was pause before he spoke again, this time with a hint of urgency, "The target has moved! Follow it!" The four of us moved totally in sync with each other, quickly sliding into formation around our target. "What's the distance between you and the target?" Kakashi-sensei asked.

"Five meters." Naruto reported, "I'm ready. Just give the signal."

"I'm ready too." Sasuke added

"Affirmative. Target in my range." I replied

"Me too, sensei!" Sakura added.

"Okay... now!" Kakashi-sensei commanded.

The four of us moved in. "I got him. I got him." Naruto yelled, catching the fuzzy bundle of fur that was our target. He yelled as the cat started clawing him.

"Affirmative. Lost pet Tora, captured; Mission Complete." Kakashi-sensei congratulated us. Naruto moaned some more as Tora started sharpening her claws on him. I groaned and lengthened the bones of my fingers into five-inch long claws which I used to grab hold of Tora. My grip on her wasn't very good, but it seemed that the cat was so freaked out by being handled by bones that it immediately settled down.

"Can't we get a better mission than this? I hate cats!" Naruto whined into the comm so loud that I think I got deafened.

I kicked at him and growled, "Do that again and Tora's wrath is unleashed on you." he immediately quieted down. He stayed quiet when I handed the feudal lord's wife her cat back. He tried to stay quiet when she crushed the living daylights out of him, but to be honest I felt a bit like gloating too. I'm not Sakura who feels sorry for everything and everyone. The whole world gets a raw deal and it is gratifying to see someone who has a rawer deal than you and rejoice in knowing you haven't hit rock-bottom yet.

He did not stay quiet when we went to collect our next assignment, "No! I want to go on a real mission! Something challenging and exciting, not this little kid stuff! Come on, Old Man!" I groaned and nearly strangled him, but a quick mental pros-cons judging later, I decided that he was onto something and could probably end up with Team 7's next big break.

Iruka-sensei wasn't having it, "HOW DARE YOU?! You're simple genin with no experience! You start with simple missions like everyone else and prove yourself!"

Naruto had a retort ready to go, "ARE YOU SERIOUS?! Baby-sitting isn't a mission! It's just a stupid..." My patience had run out and I kicked Naruto in the shin. Okay, maybe I meant to hit higher up but my tiny conscience changed my aim at the last second. "Ow, ow, ow! What was that for?" Naruto yelped.

"You were giving me a headache." I stated calmly.

"Naruto. It seems that you have not understood the tasks that you have been given." The Hokage spoke, which caught Naruto's attention, "Listen, many different kinds of requests have been brought to the Village every day; from babysitting to assassination. They're assigned to squads depending on their difficulty. We ninja are also ranked on ability. Hokage at the top. Jonin, chunnin, and genin at the bottom. At the highest level, we take the assignments and assign them to ninja with the appropriate skill level. If the mission is successful, we receive a fee that supports our Village and our line of work. Since you are just genin starting down the shinobi path, you are given D-rank missions." he explained. I was probably the only one listening aptly, the rest were listening to Naruto prattle on about his ramen dinner. Yeah, even Sasuke thought that was more interesting than what the Hokage had to say. No offence, he was really boring. I would've stopped listening too if I hadn't been feeling a little indebted to the Hokage for letting me stay and everything. "Silence!" Lord Third finally snapped, when he realized no one was really listening.

As Kakashi-sensei apologized, Naruto started talking again, "Ugh! You always lecture me like you're my grandfather or something! But I'm not the little brat who used to pull pranks all the time! I'm a ninja now and I want a ninja mission!" welp, this bratty ninja had put his foot down.

His answer seemed to amuse Lord Third, "So be it." he announced. Everyone looked up, even Naruto was shocked. Seriously, that kid pulled off some high-level manipulation right there, and he was shocked that it worked? Not happy-that-it-worked shock, this was a genuine shock. That baffled me the most about this entire discussion, that he hadn't practiced this in the mirror at least a hundred times. I'm getting off-track, let's continue with what Lord Third was saying, "Since you are so determined, I'm going to give you a C-rank. You'll be bodyguards on a journey."

Naruto grinned, "Really?! Who? Who? Are we guarding a princess? Or some councillor?"

"Don't be so impatient, I'll bring him in now." Lord Third said. Then he knocked on his table, "Send in our visitor!"

The door opened to reveal an old man, with gray hair and glasses, with a huge pack on his back and a bottle of alcohol in his hands. I blanched; the old man was either emphasized or magnified by the alcohol. The guy was drooling slightly and my opinion of him just fell into negative digits. He didn't seem very happy to see us either, "What the -? A bunch of snot-nosed kids are being sent to protect me?" He took a swig from his bottle and glared at Naruto, "Hey you, the little one with the idiotic look on his face, you don't expect me to believe you're a ninja, do you?"

Naruto laughed idiotically while I just shook my head exasperatedly, "Who's the little one with the idiotic look on his face?" he asked, looking around. I sighed and lengthened my shoulder blades, so Naruto could realize that his chin reached my shoulders. That apparently struck a nerve. Kakashi-sensei andI had to hold him back while he yelled, "Let me go! I'll demolish you! AHLFJSDJ!" he screamed incoherently.

Drunk guy started speaking, "I am Tazuna, a master bridge builder. I must return to my country. I'm building a bridge that will change our world. I expect you to get me there safely, even if it means giving up your lives."

That raised some red flags for me, which I immediately voiced, "If you expect this mission to be that dangerous, why not pay for a higher mission?" I asked bluntly, "Why would standard highway thieves pose such a threat to any ninja?"

Maybe it was my unnerving face that scared him, or was it the truth in my words? Still he looked kind of startled, when Kakashi fondly put his hand on my shoulder, "Maybe he's rubbing in how much you don't know about the shinobi world? He's not really serious."

I shook his hand off and pointed at Tazuna, "I'll accept that as the truth. For now." He seemed to relax until I added in the last part. Interesting.

The mist obscured my vision. I saw the ghostly outlines of my family stumbling around. I saw my jailers scream and collapse, their heads tumbling from their bodies. I was outside of my prison, fighting in my first battle. I swung and dashed towards the enemy, cutting their legs so they were unable to stand, then finishing them off. I felt bile climbing up my throat as blood gushed from my first victim's stomach. I fought everyone who dared raise their weapon towards me, the fog covering everything. Someone approached me from behind. I heard them draw their weapon and I activated the Larch Dance as I turned, creating a deep cut through their midsection. The mysterious figure fell, and I finally saw their face and my breath hitched, "M-mother?!" I sobbed as the dark-haired woman fell, blood oozing from her mouth.

She smiled eerily at me when I called her name, and my eyes grew misty from unshed tears. I refused to cry. To show weakness. "M-my dear. So... glad. You remember." she was cut off by a bout of hacking coughs. "Thought you... hated me. Stay... strong. You're the best... of all Ka-Kaguya." I trembled as she stared at me with her glassy eyes, life slowly draining out of her. I let a few tears shed. A trickle became a waterfall and soon I was sobbing. I remembered the look of disappointment on the clan patriarch's face when he found me defending my mother's dead body with tears streaking down my face.

The scene shifted, giving me vertigo. I stood alone on the road I had taken in our attack on Kiri before our annihilation. Facing me was a horribly familiar face. He had bandages covering his lower face and a young kid stood beside him, looking at me with a gentle smile. I recognized them. The last people who had ever offered me kindness before my clan's destruction. What were they doing here? I don't know. The guy with the bandages lifted his sword, a terrifying six-foot long thing that sent shivers up my spine. He swung it at me with ridiculously brilliant aim, and I knew then, that I couldn't dodge it. It came closer, and closer and...

I woke up covered in my sweat. I dragged myself out to be greeted with a warm breakfast already made by Aoi, and Kaito digging into the food, "What's the occasion?" I asked, groggily

Kaito looked up with a piece of fish sticking out, "Your first C-rank mission! Aoi said she didn't want you running out of energy. Here, have some sushi." he mumbled around a mouthful of food, offering me a plate.

I took it, even though what I needed was a good cup of coffee, "Fourteen years old and already she's my surrogate 'mom'. What're you doing here, anyway? You definitely weren't here when I made ramen for dinner."

Kaito looked around guiltily, "I'm not supposed to be here. When Aoi went to school, I snuck in through the windows."

I paused with my chopsticks in the air, "Wait... when can you tree-walk?"

Kaito rolled his eyes, "Never? I used a grappling hook from the roof to lower me down. Now, if you're done, you're getting late."

I nodded and ran out of the door, grabbing my bag before I left.

I found the others deep in an argument. Well, Naruto was. With whom, asked no one? Surprise, surprise, it was Tazuna. I snuck over the wall and trotted out of the forest to make it seem like I had come straight through the forest. "Where have you been?" Kakashi-sensei asked

I shrugged, "Got held back by foot traffic?" I stated lamely, mimicking his lazily cheerful demeanor.

He chuckled lamely at my jab and dropped it. We continued watching the argument, I found it rather informative, to be honest, I had just found out exactly how petty a petty comment can get. Naruto lunged in for the attack and Kakashi-sensei grabbed him, "Calm down, Naruto. You can't attack him."

We were walking along, passing the time listening to Kakashi-sensei explaining why there were no ninja villages in the Land of Waves, and nothing interesting happened for a while. Then we passed a puddle. Yes, that was the most incredible thing to happen on our way there. We passed a puddle. That might make zero sense to you guys, but there had been no rain for days! And now there was a random puddle just here? Not bloody likely! Remember that weird melting into water trick I did earlier? Yeah, any other shinobi can do that as well. You can see where I'm going with this, right? Kakashi-sensei looked back at it and sent a warning glance my way. I nodded back and continued looking around, this time to plan strategies for battle. Then it happened so quickly that I went into shock for a second there. Two ninjas melted out of the puddle and charged Sensei, wrapping a chain of shuriken around him. While the others exclaimed, the two enemies tightened the chain and ripped Kakashi-sensei to bits. Okay, I might have panicked for a second there. Then I realized that was a Substitution jutsu. The two ninjas grabbed Naruto and tried the same trick on him. But the rest of us learnt quickly. Sasuke sent a shuriken into the wire, immobilizing the foes and then I hit them both with a Digital Shrapnel. I tried to aim for non-vital parts, but my thumb pieces may have hit their stomachs, I'm not really sure. But the chain came off and one of our foes went for Naruto, the other for Tazuna. Sakura reacted quickly, charging in front of the bridge builder and holding a kunai at the ready, maybe I had judged her too harshly. Sasuke ran forward at breakneck speed and sheilded the both of them, but his moment of glory never came, because I sprang up a Water Wall between the group and the ninjas. I turned to help up Naruto for just a second, but when I turned back, Kakashi-sensei had dealt with our attackers. That had been ridiculously fast. I'll admit it, I was a little in awe, but that was nothing compared to the admiration and shock on the others' faces. Kakashi-sensei looked around with a bored air, "Hi."

Naruto blinked, "Huh?! But he was-" he looked back at where Sensei had supposedly been ripped to shreds, "What?!" he exclaimed when he realized there were only pieces wood lying about.

Kakashi-sensei looked back at him, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean for you to get hurt. I would have helped you right away, I just didn't think you would freeze up like that." he then walked over to us, "Good job, Sasuke, very smooth. Kimiko, your aim was brilliant. You too, Sakura." Naruto looked like he had been hit by a brick wall.

I leaned forward to lend him my hand, "You okay? You look dumbfounded." He growled when I said that.

"I'm not dumb! Why are you mocking me?!" I backed off quickly

Sasuke jumped in instead, adding fuel to the fire, "You're not hurt, are you? Scaredy-cat!" I sighed and walked away, while Naruto held his breath, and probably his anger. All I had done to bring this team together and our first C-rank makes everything fall apart. Go figure.

Kakashi-sensei got his attention instead, "Naruto. Stay still. They've got poison in their claws. You'll have to open the wound to remove the poison. It's in your blood, so don't move around. That only helps spread it. By the way, Mister Tazuna." he said, making the bridge builder tense up. "We need to talk." I was internally screaming in victory. Ha! This guy's stupid loosely woven web of mysteries and lies was falling apart. I was going to get answers! Finally!

I helped Sasuke tie the ninjas to a tree, while Kakashi-sensei explained what the hell they were, "They're chuunin from the Village hidden in the Mist, also known as Kirigakure or Kiri for short. Their specialty is relentless attack. They keep fighting no matter what the sacrifice."

"How did you know about our ambush?" our enemies asked.

Kakashi-sensei rolled his eyes, "I'll let Kimiko explain."

I grinned coldly, "It hadn't rained for weeks. The sky was completely clear. That puddle stuck out like a kunai surrounded by shuriken! Besides, there was an incredible amount of chakra flowing out of it, so much so that even I could detect it, and I'm not all that good at stuff like that. A technique like that is used by me as well, so you really didn't expect me to not pick up on that, did you?"

The Kiri ninjas eyes widened, and I felt a flicker of pleasure at their fear. This people had wiped out my clan. Even if I felt nothing for my clan, I felt hatred for them. "Y-You're a Kaguya, right?" one of them ventured to ask

I extended my ulna for the first stage of the Larch Dance, "Take a guess." I growled out

"Impossible!" the other cried out, "We wiped your entire clan out!"

My vision got tinged with red, memories of the war came flooding back. All the pain, the violence and the bloodshed. I may have lunged for the two ninjas but Kakashi-sensei held me back, "Yeah, well, she survived." Sasuke said flatly, on my behalf.

"So, if you knew they were there, why did you let the genin do the fighting?" Tazuna asked.

I scoffed; the answer was obvious. He thought we could handle – "Because then I'd have learnt nothing about what their target was. What were they after? Or rather... who?" he said, looking at Tazuna. Oh, so that wasn't the answer. "I wanted to know if they were after us; ninja attacking ninja. Or if they were after you; the master bridge builder. When you put in your request, you asked for standard protection from robbers and highwaymen. You didn't say there were ninja looking for you. If we knew this, this would be a B-ranked mission or possibly an A-rank. Our mission was to get you to your destination safely and protect you while you build your bridge. If we knew we would be fielding attacks from enemy ninja, we would have staffed differently and charged for the cost of a B mission. Apparently, you have your reasons. But lying to us is not acceptable. We are now beyond the scope of this mission."

Sakura leaned forward, "We're just genin. It's too advanced for our level of training and I'm really worried about Naruto's wound. We should take him to a doctor back at the village."

Kakashi sighed, "Naruto's hand could become a problem. I guess we should go back to Konoha."

Naruto growled, flipped out a kunai, and then that idiot freaking STABS HIMSELF WITH IT! Okay, I was a little worried there for a second. I rushed forward, but he turned towards me with a grin. With that stupid kunai knife just sticking out, the whole thing still gushing blood. Combined with my recent flashback to the war, this was too much. I back pedaled a bit and gagged, "Don't worry. I'll be fine!"

Kakashi sensei sighed, "Naruto. That was pretty cool, how you took the poison out of your blood and all. But if you lose any more blood, you're gonna die." His actions seemed to catch up to him and he started sweating. I sighed and tore out a bandage roll I had brought along and started spraying disinfectant on his hand, applying pressure onto the wrist, basically saving his life. I felt really proud of myself. Then things started getting weird. By the time all the blood had been wiped away, there was no wound. "Sorry, Naruto, but you did stab yourself here, right?" I asked, slowly.

Sakura looked up, "Are you serious, Kimiko? We all saw him do it. How did you miss all the blood?"

I shook my head, "That's not what I meant. There's just no wound here. It's like you never stabbed yourself at all."

That got their attention, "That's weird, Naruto, how did you do it?" Sakura leaned over to take a look.

Kakashi-sensei seemed to tense up, "We'll look for an answer later. Right now, we need to continue the mission." That got my curiosity up. There was something about Naruto that Kakashi-sensei knew, but he didn't want us to know. If he didn't want us to know something, it was probably awesome. So, I took a silent oath that I would find out the secret of Uzumaki Naruto if it cost me my life.

First, though, came the mission. We reached the foggy shore and went to the most secluded part of the beach. A man on a motorboat came up to us. He had turned off the motor, instead opting to row the boat. He stopped in front of us, "Are you all with Tazuna, the Master Bridge Builder?"

Tzuna nodded, "Yeah, this is all of us." then he turned towards us, "This is the boatman I hired to get us to the Land of Waves without alerting them. Come on."

All of us filed in and the boat took off silently. Sakura looked around worriedly, "This fog's so thick. You can't see anything."

We sat silently for a while, until the boatman spoke up, "The bridge isn't far now. Our destination's up ahead; the Land of Waves."

Me and Naruto peered through the fog. It was so thick; I couldn't believe there was land ahead. It reminded me of the Hidden Mist jitsu that Kiri had used to destroy my clan with. I wondered if I could use the Mist Exposure Jitsu on this fog to make it recede too. Slowly, the bridge came into view. I had to admit, I was taken aback by the great volume of the bridge. Naruto seemed to agree too, "Woah! It's HUGE!" he yelled. I face-palmed at his outburst, couldn't he ever say his mind quietly?

The boatman hissed, "Quiet! I told you, no noise! Why do you think we're travelling like this? Turning off the engine and rowing? We're being as quiet as possible, so they don't see us." Naruto hastily covered his mouth.

Kakashi-sensei finally began his interrogation, which really should have started as soon as we got onto the damn boat, right? But, I digress, "Mr. Tazuna, before we reach the pier, I want to ask you something." the drunk Bridge Builder stayed quiet, good for him. I mean, what could you say in that situation? I know Kakashi-sensei will continue interrogating him anyway, "They men who are after you. I need to know why. If you don't tell us, I'm afraid I'll have to end this mission when we drop you ashore."

Tazuna remained silent for a long time until he finally spoke up, "I guess I have to tell you the truth. No, I want you to know the truth. Like you said, this goes beyond the scope of the original mission. The man who seeks my life is a very short man, who casts a very long and deadly shadow."

This seemed to confuse Sensei, "a deadly shadow?" he repeated, uncertainly. My mind immediately went to the Nara clan with their Shadow Strangle techniques.

"You mean like a member of the Nara clan?" I asked, slowly.

He shook his head, "Not a literal deadly shadow. I mean he has a deadly influence." Right that cleared things up. "You know him. At least I'm sure you've heard of his name. He's one of the wealthiest men in the world, the shipping magnet, Gatto."

I had never heard of the name, but Kakashi-sensei seemed alarmed, "Gatto? Of Gatto Transport?! He's a business leader, everyone knows him."

"Hold up, how is he evil? Who is he anyways?" I asked

Tazuna bowed his head slightly, "Gatto is a very powerful tycoon from a business company called Gatto Transport, that's true. But below the surface, with the same ruthless manner in which he takes over businesses and nations, he sells drugs and contraband, using gangs and ninja. It was one year ago, when Gatto first set his sights on the Land of Waves. He came to our island and used his vast wealth to take total control of the transport and shipping. Anyone who dared stand in his way, simply disappeared." I shuddered, that reminded me scarily of the Battle of Mist in the war of Kaguya v. Kiri, "In an island nation, the man who controls the sea controls everything. Finance, government, our very lives. But there's one thing he fears. The Bridge. Once it is completed, it will join us with the mainland and that will break his control. I am the bridge builder."

Everything clicked into place. "So that's why he's after you, you're standing in this gangster's way."

I turned towards Naruto, who had a blank look on his face, "Those ninjas we fought? They were sent by Gatto." Naruto let out an 'oh' of understanding.

"But, if you knew he was dangerous, knew he would come after you, why did you not hide that from us?"

Tazuna looked a bit shameful, "The Land of waves is a small and poverty nation. Even our nobles had little money. We could not afford a B-rank mission or an A-rank mission. It's too expensive. If you end the mission when you drop me ashore, there will be no bridge. They will assassinate me before I reach home. But don't feel bad about that. Of course, my sweet little grandson will be upset. He'll cry." then he continued in a ridiculous voice, "Grandpappy! Where's my grandpappy? I want my grandad!" I groaned and face-palmed, but Bridge builder was talking again in his normal voice, "And my daughter will condemn the ninja of Konoha, denouncing you for abandoning her father and living her life in sorrow. Ah, well, it's not your fault, forget it." Okay, that felt really bad. There was a weight building up in my chest, is that what people felt like when I bluntly told them something? I exchanged a look with everyone else to see if they were thinking what I was thinking.

We had a nonverbal agreement, and Kakashi-sensei was the one who told him of our verdict, "Well, I guess we have no other choice. We have to keep guarding him." I sighed, well, it did something for my guilty conscious. But was this the best way to go about the whole business?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh no! Kimiko suspects something! She really values information, you know. She likes pure fact and doesn't enjoy being swayed with irrational things like 'emotions'. Remember, her entire clan was mostly governed by their extreme emotions. Fear led them to lock up their most powerful children, anger led them to launch an attack that killed them. She tends to push away most emotions and her POV's reflect that since her thoughts analyse everything that's happening, and mostly provide very little actual input to her emotions.


	6. Reuniting with my first friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In a rather awkward way.

We were walking along the path, surrounded by trees, nothing wrong there, all good. Tension between Naruto-kun and Sasuke were worryingly high. I suspected he was not happy at the getting shown up by the Uchiha. Completely normal reaction from an outcast. Just because I understood it meant it was bearable, especially when said tension caused him to act out and do stupid things like fire kunai randomly. I tensed up immediately, putting up the Fossil Defense and activating my Larch Dance. Naruto-kun stood back up, "It was just a mouse." he said, smugly?

Sakura-chan gritted her teeth, "Yeah, right! Everyone can see through your act!"

"Naruto-kun! Those kunai knives are dangerous!" Kakashi-sensei chided

Tazuna-san's forehead bulged with veins, "Stop trying to scare me, punk!" he screamed.

The idiot continued obliviously, "Hey, is someone hiding over there? No, they're over there!" he swung another kunai knife at a random place where Kakashi-sensei glanced

I growled and poked him in the back with the bones I extended from my Larch Dance as all my other bones reverted back to normal, causing shivers to run down his spine, "Naruto-kun, you're freaking me out. I was forced to fight against these ninjas. Remember? They really shouldn't be taken lightly."

Naruto-kun gulped, "I'm serious! We're being followed!"

Sakura-chan scoffed, "Yeah, right! Quit lying and acting like a dumb kid!"

Sensei, meanwhile went to look at the place where the kunai landed, finding a white bunny instead. Looking at it, I felt a twinge of recognition, as though, I knew what was coming. But I didn't make the connection then. Snow bunnies...snow...Kiri ninja. What was the relationship? I didn't get much time to ponder the answer, it was presented to me seconds later. But it took me some time to properly figure out the pieces. A horrifically gigantic blade came flying out. A blade I had hoped to never see again. I hit the ground before anyone, the rest following suit after Kakashi-sensei gave the order. The monstrous blade –Kubikiribōchō, if I remembered correctly– lodged itself into a tree and the man who I hated only slightly less than Orochimaru jumped on to its hilt. Kudos to Kakashi-sensei for sounding carefree when he said, "Well, well, if it isn't Zabuza Momochi, rogue ninja from Kirigakure." Naruto-kun apparently lost his patience and charged, but Sensei held out his hand to stop him. "You're in the way. Get back." he calmly said, ignoring Naruto-kun's annoyance. "He's not like those other ninjas. He's in a whole other league. If he's our opponent, I'll need this." We stared at him in surprise as he gripped his forehead protector, even my curiosity was sparked; I had never seen his covered eye, there had to be a story for it.

"Kakashi of the Sharingan eye... did I get that right?" Zabuza rasped, causing Sasuke to start, "Sorry this had to happen, but you'll have to hand over the old man... and the Kaguya too, if you're okay with that."

"What do you want with her?" Sasuke growled angrily which, come to think of it, I really should have been the most interested in.

Zabuza shrugged, "So many places will pay good money for the last living Kaguya. Experimentation, clan secrets, you'd understand too, I'm sure. An old friend wants to catch up with her, too. Besides, it's not like she's a member of your squad or anything, right?" my skin prickled and the hair on my skin rose on end.

Kakashi didn't sound all that pleasant when he spoke next, "You'll find that Kimiko became a genin for Konohagakure, and she is very much in my squad. Quick! Manji formation! Protect the Bridge builder... and stay out of this fight." he pulled up his headband... revealing the Sharingan eye, so the Demon hadn't been lying after all, my suspicions for head on straight.

"This is an honor." Zabuza rasped, before turning to me, "Kimiko, huh? That reminds me of a Kaguya in the war. Ballsy little kid, she was. Had no idea when to stay down. I always figured that attitude of hers got her killed. Guess I was wrong."

Irritation flickered through me, so strong even Naruto-kun figured out something was wrong, "Yeah, guess you were." I muttered darkly.

He let out a dry chuckle, "I suppose you still haven't changed your mind?"

I glared at him, "Nope. And I never will." My squad mates looked a little disconcerted at our exchange and Sasuke seemed to have made a mental note to ask about it later.

Mist flooded the area and I shivered with memories. "Enough talk." Zabuza said, "I need to exterminate the man. Maybe afterwards we can catch up."

The four of us immediately surrounded Tazuna in the Manji formation. I used my bones to form a protective barrier, shielding him from aerial attacks. Anything more and I would have run out of bones for a skeleton solid enough to fight in.

"So, I'll have to eliminate you first, eh, Kakashi? So be it."

He ran and dislodged the seversword out of the trunk and dashed past us, into the lake. "He's standing on the water!" Sakura-chan exclaimed

I scoffed at her, "Don't tell me you've never even heard of it. I can see why the Hidden Leaf Village wouldn't emphasize that part until later, but in Mizu no Kuni, you're a failure of a ninja if you can't do this by the time you graduate." The three looked at me in amazement, as though finally realizing I was a foreigner. To which I say, took them long enough!

Zabuza made a hand sign and started building up the chakra. Sensei tensed, ready to attack, and Zabuza finally said it, "Ninja Art: Hidden Mist Jutsu!" Immediately, fog engulfed me, even more oppressive this time, since it was saturated in chakra.

"He'll come after me first." Kakashi-sensei said,

"But who is he?" Sakura-chan asked.

It wasn't Sensei who answered, but me, "Zabuza Momochi. Master Assassin and the very best at the Silent Killing Technique. One of the Seven Swordsman of the Mist. He was instrumental in my clan's defeat."

He was cut off by Zabuza's rasping voice, "Eight points. Larynx, spine, lungs, liver, jugular. Pulmonary artery, kidneys, heart. Now, which will be my kill point?"

Silence, then Kakashi spoke up, "Can you counteract the Hidden Mist Jutsu? Your clan fought an entire battle and several fights shrouded in this mist. They must have developed some sort of jutsu to counteract it. It'll make him lose his advantage."

I shuddered but I nodded, "Yeah... I-I'll give it my best shot." Then I made a sign that looked like the Tiger seal, except that the pinky, ring and middle fingers lying flat against each other while the index fingers and thumbs were crossing over each other. I closed my eyes and focused my chakra, before snapping my eyes open and expelling the chakra, "Ninja Art: Mist Exposure Jutsu!" The chakra cleared the all fog around us in an eight-feet radius. Beyond that, the mist slowly became denser and denser. The overall area effected by the jutsu was a twenty-foot radius.

My shoulders dropped ever so slightly, but Kakashi-sensei nodded approvingly, "Good work, Kimiko."

I then became aware of Sasuke shaking violently, and I was confused, he was well-trained, why was he shaking? Then I realized it. It may seem stupid, but it took me some time to realize that Zabuza was leaking killing intent. I had just been exposed to Orochimaru's KI so much, that this just didn't seem to register properly. I knew what it was like so I spoke up, "Killing intent is just negative chakra, Sasuke. Whatever you're being hit with, it's not as bad as you think. We're gonna get out of this alive. I mean it." He exhaled, relaxing against me ever-so-slightly.

"I wouldn't be so sure." Zabuza rasped. Then, he appeared right behind me in the formation. Everyone gasped, but I turned around, and fired a Digital Shrapnel in his face before pulling on the Fossil Defence and back-pedaling. Most of the bones were deflected, but at least three of the ten made contact. Kakashi-sensei lunged forward, stabbing him in the gut with a kunai. Water leaked out from the wound and I cursed, Water Clone! So where was the real one?

Naruto-kun gasped, "Sensei! Behind you!" Kakashi-sensei turned around to get sliced in half by Zabuza, who had come up behind him, but he was revealed to be a Water Clone.

Zabuza seemed to freeze for a moment and that was all he needed. Kakashi-sensei stuck a kunai at Zabuza's throat, "Don't move. Now it's over!" I smirked to myself.

Zabuza chuckled, "You don't get it do you? Your technique is nothing but a crass imitation. I'll never be defeated by a copycat like you." more chuckling, "You are full of surprises, though. You managed to copy my Water Clones in an instant. Very skillfully executed. You made your clone while Kimiko gave that speech to draw my attention." I bristled. This guy was an awful team player. I hope that Haku wasn't still following him. He continued, "Nice try." Another Zabuza appeared behind him and I froze. What the actual fuck?! The Zabuza he had in a chokehold dissipated and I growled. Water Clone! Zabuza swung his seversword and Sensei ducked. It stabbed itself into the ground and Zabuza used its force to kick Kakashi-sensei. My breath hitched as he went flying. I immediately jumped and shot out another Digital Shrapnel, this time from my feet as well as my hands. Eight of them hit. No vital spots. He growled at me, "I'll let Haku sort you out later." Hold on, Haku's alive?! And he's with Zabuza still? Oh, brilliant. Before grabbing Kubikiribōchō and rushing off after Sensei. Sensei landed in the water and our squad froze in shock. I watched him get up from the lake, noting how the water rolled off of him and my knowledge of Water Style told me what was coming. Zabuza appeared behind him and started flipping through hand signs, "Water Prison Jutsu!" Kakashi sensei was lifted from the lake in a ball of swirling water. Zabuza chuckled, "Escaping in the water? Bad idea. This prison is made of water, but it's harder than steel. Impossible to escape when you can't move. I'll sort you out later, but first; your little friends." He raised his hand in a seal and a Water Clone rose up, ready to fight. Naruto-kun let out a gasp of horror as Zabuza continued monologuing, "You think wearing a headband makes you a ninja? When you hover between life and death so many times it doesn't faze you, then you may be called a ninja. When you've grown so deadly, your profile is entered in my bingo book, then you may have earned the title ninja. But to call upstarts like you ninja is a joke." He vanished for a second, before appearing in front of Naruto-kun. I yelled out a warning but Zabuza already kicked him into a tree, sending his headband flying. "You're just brats!" He admonished. Sakura-chan and Sasuke whirled around in a panic, to watch his clone kick Naruto-kun.

Kakashi-sensei yelled, "Listen! Get the bridge builder and run! You can't win this fight! He's using all his power to keep me in this prison so all he can use is his Water Clone, but the Clone can't get far away from his real body, if you run, it can't follow! Now, run!" I turned around and looked at my comrades' faces, and I could see the same decision on each of their faces; we were gonna fight. Sasuke lunged forward, throwing shuriken, but they were deflected easily. Sasuke jumped up and tried to attack from above but Zabuza wrapped his arm around Sasuke's neck and sent him flying.

"Sasuke-kun, no!" Sakura-chan yelled. Pussy.

"He got Sasuke!" Naruto-kun exclaimed.

Time for a different approach. I ran over to Sasuke to look him over, "Get up." I said curtly, "Let's do things a little differently." He grunted and nodded, springing up immediately. I made three signs, Ram–Snake–Tiger and yelled it out, "Water Style: Black Rain Jutsu!" the black mist went above both the real Zabuza and the clone and thoroughly soaked them.

Sasuke was already finishing his jutsu before Zabuza could react, "Fireball Jutsu!"

Zabuza caught on immediately; "Water wall jutsu!" he cried out and a great barrier of the liquid shielded him and his clone from the brunt of the attack, as fire ignited oil. But his pants were slightly singed and parts of his arms blistered and I felt a leap of joy. He scoffed, "You thought that would do something? You're out of your mind, Kaguya. You should know better. I actually thought you were worth sparing. Guess I was mistaken." I gritted my teeth and was about to reply when Naruto-kun got up and charged towards him like a fool. Wait, he already was one. He got kicked away, obviously. Who thought something else was gonna happen? I leaned over to help him up, and he took my hand to drag himself up. It was then that I saw his prize. His headband. The one he worked so hard to get.

"You got a plan?" I asked, while Sakura-chan looked at me questioningly, probably to tell me that Naruto-kun is incapable of planning, but Naruto-kun nodded curtly, before turning towards Zabuza.

"Hey, you, the freak with no eyebrows. Put this in your bingo book." He said, as he tied his headband back on, "The ninja who will become Hokage of Konohagakure, he never backs down... his name's Uzumaki Naruto!" Zabuza's vein bulged and I grinned. Brash, sure, but he had an innate ability to piss off people, and it was working for his advantage.

I stepped forward and whispered in a low voice, so no one could hear us. Even Sakura-chan and Sasuke had to strain to listen, "He's got an apprentice, somewhere in the trees, waiting for Zabuza's word." Sakura-chan's eyes widened but I shot her a look that shut her up before she gasped. I continued, "It's been some time since I last saw these guys. But, if I remember correctly, Haku was good with senbon and had a kekkei genkai for the Ice Style. She was a good friend, my first friend." Sasuke stiffened and cast a suspicious look around. Zabuza was staring at us so I started talking faster, "He'd been quite gentle, and disliked killing when I saw him last, but is utterly devoted to Zabuza. He was mentioned in the fight before, so I'm guessing he'll pop out when Zabuza's at his absolute limit." The three glanced at Zabuza, who was currently dominating us.

"What do we do?" Sasuke finally said. We all stared at him, dumbfounded. Sasuke... asking someone for a plan? He rolled his eyes, "You have a plan, right? You're good with this stuff."

I nodded, "Me and Sakura-chan will stay with Tazuna-san. Naruto-kun, you said you have a plan. You and Sasuke have to work on it, got it?" The two nodded instantly. Sakura-chan and I surrounded Tazuna-san, while the boys faced off with Zabuza. I was a defence specialist. This was my home turf.

Kakashi-sensei was panicking, "What are you doing? This fight was over the moment I got caught. Now, take off! Your mission is not to prove how brave you are, it's to save the Bridge builder. Stay on mission!"

That floored me. I couldn't defy a direct order. He was right, I needed to get around this somehow. Naruto-kun turned around, "Bridge Builder?"

Tazuna-san bowed his head, "I-I guess this all happened because of me –and my desire to live. Forget about me and do what you have to do! Fight and save your sensei!"

I smirked and Sasuke 'Hn'edTM , "Alright you hear that?"

Naruto-kun smiled, "Yeah, Dattebayo! You ready?"

Then Zabuza goes full psycho and started laughing. Hysterically. "You really haven't learned anything, have you? Still playing you little game. Pretending to be ninja. When I was your age, this hand had already crushed many opponents."

We stood there, shocked. Kakashi-sensei agreed, "Zabuza, the demon."

Zabuza looked at him, "So I was in your Bingo Book, too? What do you know of the graduation exam?"

Oh, gods, it was brutal. He was right, the exams had been terrifying, and I had never participated. I had watched and listened and smelt the bodies and torture of the mad melee. Kami, that brought back nightmares I had nearly forgotten... "We had a graduation exam, too. I don't see what the big deal is." Naruto-kun said, snapping me out of my thoughts.

I looked towards him, "To graduate in Kiri, you have to kill the rest of your class. It was abolished, ten years ago. When he killed the entire graduating class even though he wasn't graduating." He gave a strangled gasp. "You had a plan, right? So, use it!"

He nodded mutely and his face hardened. Zabuza chuckled and his clone attacked. It happened so fast, I barely saw him move, when he hit Sasuke and sent him flying. I held back a gasp, and in that moment, I finally saw Haku, dressed up in the same old hunter-nin outfit, watching the fight. I nodded towards Sakura-chan, and silently gestured at Kakashi-sensei, using the Konoha Standard Gestures I had been taught, Enemy...Support...Move to Apprehend He looked panicked for a second, mostly paying attention to the fight with Naruto-kun and Sasuke and the clone before signing back H-A-K-U? I nodded and quickly ran into the trees. My tree-walking skills had greatly improved, and I had nearly managed to water-walk. I found Haku staring at me in a detached manner. That mask really helped in that part. I tried not to focus on the screams and smashing happening in the clearing. "Why're you doing this, Haku?" I asked, "We have the same eyes, so why are we on different sides?"

He stared back at me, "Zabuza gave me a purpose. I respect you, but if you come in the way of my purpose, I will gladly obliterate you, Kimiko-senpai."

I sadly looked at him, "I'm not your senpai, Haku. You're an equal to me. If you could just see..."

Haku looked back at the sounds of fighting, "Did you find a new purpose? Did that Orochimaru take care of you?"

I gritted my teeth, "That was a mistake. I paid the price a long time ago. I'm still paying it now."

"The Village didn't immediately kill you for possession of a kekkei genkai?" he sounded disbelieving

"Konoha isn't like that. Now, please, don't do this." I begged. I always like Haku. After all these years, anyone should have become unhinged, but he still remained coolly detached, soft, gentle but killing without hesitation if told. I didn't want to kill him. Maybe I was weak, but Haku didn't really care for Zabuza as a person. He cared for Zabuza because he was the only one who thought about him. The only one who wanted him. His only home. It wasn't true and I needed him to see that. I sighed, there was no getting around it, "Sorry, Haku." and I raised my hands and shot out a Digital Shrapnel, but he quickly dodged it. He swiped at me with an ice blade, which I countered with a Larch Dance. He brought out his senbon and I coated my skin with Bone Armor. I snuck in close for an attack, and he brought up his leg and kicked me away. I chased after him as he disappeared into the shrubbery but then, with a gust of wind and he was right behind me. I swiped at him with my kunai and he backed away. I swiped my leg low, but he sidestepped it, making me shoot Digital Shrapnel at his face, narrowly avoiding his eye-holes. The mask cracked under pressure, and he winced. I charged him while he seemed distracted, but he swung around, hiding the small of my back. He grabbed my arm and attempted to dislocate my shoulder, but I swung around and sent him flying to another tree. He charged away quickly, and I ran after him. We were getting further and further away from the fight and that bothered me. Haku finally stopped and shunshin-ed behind me, but I blocked his kick, which sent me towards the ground. I landed in the middle of a clearing, so far away from the fight that I could barely hear it. Haku landed in front of me and made a weird hand sign. I knew what was coming before it hit. All my bone reserves shifted to my Bone Armor, making it as thick as possible without damaging anything. All my weapons shrank down as slabs of ice surrounded me. Haku melted into one slab, and his image looked at me from every direction. There was no escape. The first wave of senbon hit me and I screamed from the pain. Haku avoided all the parts of my body that were shielded by the bone structure, instead hitting the joints, limiting my movement. The wave ended and I looked around quickly, before flashing through the hand signs, "Water Style: Black Rain Jutsu!" The misty rain coated the mirrors and I tossed a kunai attached to a paper bomb at one of the mirrors before running out of there as fast as I could, before breaking my nose as I walked head-on into a mirror. Damn, I had forgotten those things could move! The explosion echoed everywhere, but the mirrors remained intact. Bummer. The next wave hit and pain enveloped me as I screamed in agony. I wanted to attack so bad, but I couldn't. I had only so many reserve bones to use as weaponry or shields, if I wanted more, I would have to repurpose ones essential to my skeletal system, and those things are needed to protect my organs. The pain subsided and I took careful stock of my injuries. Lots of bruising and cuts that were entirely expected, and I quickly pulled out some of the senbon that were stuck in my joints. I needed a plan. I ducked down again as the wave restarted, its pain blinding all rational thought. I fought for consciousness, painfully aware of all the blood I was losing and all the potentially fatal diseases that I was being exposed to. I had trained with Haku, once. I had thought that he and I would be fellow subordinates, but Kimimaro ratted me out to Orochimaru and there I had gone. Biggest mistake of my life. I sometimes found myself wondering, what would life have been like, if I followed Zabuza instead of my brother. I never got the chance to find out. The pain subsided then started again, but I barely noticed, I was slowly bleeding out, with no way out. This was not how I wanted to go down. I needed another option. Which bones could I use that wouldn't stunt me? Which jutsu could I use? Shit. I was such an idiot. Camellia Dance! That was perfect for a situation like this! I closed my eyes, protecting them from the onslaught of needles and slowly loosened the ligaments wrapping around my radius and humerus, clearing away any muscle tissue and disconnecting it from other bones, dislocating the joints, waiting for the moment, timing it perfectly right. I rested my hand on the end of my humerus. Waiting for him to strike. The assualt restarted, and he hovered right over me and my eyes flew open, NOW! The jutsu wasn't ready, I needed more time to get all the nerves and blood vessels out of the way, but I didn't have time. I needed to move, nownownow. My heart was hammering inside my chest, like it was trying to burst out. I didn't know if I'll ever get another chance like this, and with all that weighing me down, I yanked the bones out. The skeletal sword swiped at Haku, sending him tumbling backwards. He readied his stance, daring me to attack. Then, water flooded the area, and the ice dissipated. Haku looked towards the source and his eyes, which were exposed from his shattered mask, widened with fear, "Zabuza-sama." He whispered, before running off to towards them. I scowled and followed, but I was tired and no match for Haku's speed. I followed him to Kakashi-sensei and Team Seven. Naruto's plan worked! Haku ran towards Zabuza and I launched a kunai at him, which scraped right past him. Kakashi-sensei stabbed Zabuza in the neck, and blood spurted out. That made Haku freeze, giving me time to catch up to him. Then he shunshin-ed down to the scene of the battle. I ran after him, as everyone stared at him, and pressed the sword from the Camellia Dance into his back, "Not another step." I hissed.

Sensei looked at him curiously, "So, this is Haku? Are you sure-"

"My purpose. You killed the person most precious to me. You've destroyed my purpose." Haku mumbled.

"Well, that solves that mystery." Kakashi-sensei said, off-handedly

I nodded towards my squad members, "Tie him up, please. My other arm is completely unusable."

The two nodded and got busy with rope, Sasuke gave the bleeding gash the Camellia Dance had caused a dirty look, "Sakura-chan, you should help her treat that, we don't need her getting sick."

Sakura-chan looked at me jealously, "Why? Just bind it, I bet it'll be fine."

I scowled at her, "I get sick easily. They give solo C-rank missions solely to make sure I don't die every time I get a head cold or an infected cut. There's antiseptic and antibacterial bandages in my bag, I just risked my life neutralizing one threat, now help me!" She rolled her eyes, but brought out the materials from my bag and started treating it. Kakashi-sensei frowned and stepped forward, then fell flat on his face. I blinked, "Uh... is he gonna be alright?"

Sasuke groaned, "Probably just chakra exhaustion. We should get him to shelter. Is your house nearby, Bridge builder?"

Tazuna nodded, "It's just up ahead. Are you planning to bring him along?" He said, gesturing to Haku, who had been securely tied up, with a Chakra seal over him, leaving his legs free. Haku was still downcast, he looked like he was about to cry, Kami, he shouldn't be mourning that asshole.

I smile at the Bridge builder, "Don't worry, Haku is harmless without weapons. Besides, he never attacks until Zabuza tells him to, but..." I gestured to Zabuza's bloody beaten form, "He's not coming back."


	7. Rude Awakening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kakashi wakes up. Haku is interrogated. Kimiko has to deal with the consequences of her panic-induced decisions that just serve to cement into her mind that emotions have no business existing

Kakashi woke up blearily, as he reflected on the fight before he had fainted. That Haku-san that Kimiko-chan had insisted was a threat had an incredible amount of chakra, even after he'd gone up against Kimiko-chan and took quite a beating. They should interrogate him about his connection to Zabuza, the boy could still be an asset. He found his thoughts drifting to Kimiko-chan. That girl was the most bizarre part of Team 7 for him. Everyone else, he could get a read on, and he had accepted them to be as they were, but Kimiko-chan... He could barely imagine the sobbing child curled up in a cabin encased in chakra-reinforced rock as the same konoichi that had managed to get the entire squad to pass. It made no sense to him at the time that she had been the one to get them to work together. A loner, bullied and ostracized, dedicated to being stronger than Orochimaru himself, how had she spotted the objective so easily? He had understood when he watched the squad practice together. Unlike the other three, Kimiko-chan had lost many times, enough times to understand that pride hindered more than helped. The others knew only a fraction of her history, and her influence between them was grudging acknowledgement that she had seen bloodshed and war that the others had barely ever thought about. In a way, he had to admit it was a good strategy. She was similar to Nara Shikamaru, being able to strategize effortlessly because of her detachment to her surroundings. Anything thrown at her, she had already endured worse. That Haku kid, though... how had she known he was there? She seemed to be familiar with his style and demeanor, but when would they have interacted...? He thought about the way she had looked when she had held that sword at Haku-san's neck, with blood leaking from needles sticking all over her, like a porcupine. There had been a gash on her shoulder, and the way her arm was quivering like it had no bones, that worried him. He should probably go check on the kid. He put out his hand on the floor and tried to get to his feet, but every cell screamed in protest, unwilling to get up, just too tired to move, but he had to make sure his students were okay. He couldn't believe he had let Kimiko-chan charge into unknown territory, fighting an enemy stronger than her, he didn't want any of his students to be put at such a risk... "You should rest. Chakra exhaustion is a bitch." a casual voice drawled. Kakashi turned to see Kimiko-chan, her arms covered with bandages and ointment dabbed all over her face. Her arm was still jelly-like, which worried him. She just swore, didn't she? Should he say something about that? Probably, but he's not really the best of mentors, so he let it go.

"Where's Haku?"

Kimiko-chan looked towards a window, "Outside, tied to a post. I really think she's going to try and kill herself if she's given the means."

Kakashi immediately remembered his dad, covered in blood, with a kunai in his hand. He shook his head to clear his thoughts. "What happened to your arm?" he asked in a bored voice. Kimiko-chan looked down at the floppy appendage, before pulling up something from the floor in his peripheral vision. It was a white sword, with a joint in the middle. Oh. OH. "The Camellia Dance?" he asked. She had mentioned the jutsu offhandedly while sparring, but he hadn't realized how close it was to completion.

She must have read the look on his face, "Yeah, I know, I messed it up, though. Cut through at least three veins and two arteries and severe internal bleeding, but I think I'm good. The muscle tissue has been severely damaged, probably tore straight through my ulnar collateral ligament, and definitely tore through at minimum five tendons." She said it in such a relaxed tone, he wondered if she was actually aware of how serious an injury like that was, "And I can't seem to fit the bone back in. The hole I made to pull the bastard out healed over so I can't stick it back in, and it's at such an awkward angle that I can't just recklessly stab myself with it while focusing on getting all the muscles, nerves and blood vessels out of the way at the same time."

Kakashi looked at her, putting the pieces together in his head, "You want me to do it for you?" She nodded, "I thought about waking you up... but in your condition I really think it can wait." Kakashi sighed, "Then why ask me at all? Where are your team-mates?"

Kimiko-chan looked back at him with a chilling stare, which he easily directed back at her, "They're coming. I alerted them when you woke up." Right on cue, the rest of Team 7 walked in, "Sensei! You're awake!" Sakura cheered.

Kakashi shrugged, "Yeah, but it'll take me a week to return to peak fighting condition." Tazuna nodded, "But you dealt with that assassin easily, right? The rest won't be much trouble either!" Kakashi shook his head, "We barely made it out, if it wasn't for the quick thinking of Naruto and Sasuke, we'd be dead by now, but Kimiko-chan was able to tip us off about the ninja hidden in the trees, waiting to strike, which gave us a huge advantage. Care to share, Kimiko-chan?"

Kimiko glared at him with a betrayed expression in her eyes, before looking at everyone's curious glances and she sighed, "I met them right before the war in which my clan was killed. They were defecting, taking advantage of the confusion of battle and fleeing. Haku said Zabuza didn't see the point of bloodshed like this, for no apparent reason or goal. He said he wasn't going to hang about a Village that would even let war begin for such a stupid reason. He said I would be useful to him, that it would be a shame for me to die for a cause I didn't believe in. So... I hung around with them, for a couple of days, to see exactly what they were on about. I was five, nearly six, when it happened and really don't feel like remembering. But... a couple days after that, I realized that Zabuza really couldn't care about whether I cared about a cause or not, it was about him. His chakra or something tipped me off that something bad was about to happen, so I left that night. I returned to my clan's old compound, and I found Kimimaro there, who led me to Orochimaru, and you know the rest..." Sakura gasped, even though she really should have become used to morbid things happening in the lives of her teammates.

"You sure you don't want my help in fixing your shoulder, Kimiko-chan?" Kakashi gently asked, even if that little idiot thought she could manage without an arm, she wouldn't be able to hold out for a week. Olive eyes met grey and she sighed, "Fine. I guess I could use some help." Kakashi nodded, "Good. I'll need a something for you to bite into, if the pain gets too great. You still carry all those books about the skeletal system, right? I'll need it for instruction." Kimiko-chan nodded and grabbed a scroll and a giant gumball. She handed him the scroll, and he stretched it out to compare the placements of the bones for her own. "Sasuke, Naruto, hold her down if she starts to panic." Kimiko's eyes bulged in a minute of horror. Kakashi rolled his eyes, "I'm forcing an ejected bone into you body, into an area that currently has no bones, tons of internal muscle and nerve damage. That is going to feel like a burning staff is being shoved down your arm. Keep the screaming down and focus on not completely destroying your arm permanently." If Kimiko-chan wanted to argue, she didn't bother, probably cause she knew he'd go ahead with it anyways. Smart girl. She handed him the arm sword and tied her her to the side with her hitai-ate so he could work unhindered on her shoulder blade. He unwound the bandages on her shoulder, easily picking out the exit point of the sword, even though it was badly scabbed and oozing pus and blood, it healed remarkably fast given that the thing was at least a foot deep but he supposed bone exit points healed nigh instantaneously. He positioned the sword just right, then squeezed her shoulder in warning before driving the sword into her arm. Kimiko-chan let out a blood-curdling scream, thrashing wildly, causing Sasuke-kun and Naruto-kun to brace her. After the initial stabbing, she calmed down, clearing the way for the razor sharp piece of bone to go through, even though she winced a lot and her face was stuck in a pained grimace the whole time, which was the most expressive he had ever seen her since that time she had sobbed during the night of her journey to Konoha. Then, he hit a wall of muscle. He experimentally shifted a little before speaking, "You're supposed to be clearing a way for the bone to go."

Kimiko-chan rolled her eyes, "I'm aware of that, the muscles aren't responding." Kakashi sighed, the bone had stopped at some point After the elbow joint, and half the bone was sticking out at an awkward angle that would most definitely keep hitting her head, probably would even give her a concussion.

"Kimiko-chan, out of curiosity, do you know how your Shikotsumyako even works?" He asked

Kimiko-chan nodded, "It uses a combination of my unique chakra network and specially developed nerves, supported by differently structured muscles and extra flexible yet tougher organs to make sure none get impaled by haywire bones."

Kakashi rubbed his chin, "You mentioned nerve damage in that area because of the Camellia Dance?"

Kimiko-chan's eyes widened, "Yeah! The area has been feeling kind of numb and unresponsive."

Kakashi hummed, "Nerve endings, huh? They'll grow back in less than a month.

Sakura-chan finally spoke up, "So she'll have a bone sticking out of her shoulder for a month?"

The idea seemed to alarm the Kaguya, so Kakashi jumped in before she could object, "It will probably heal faster than a normal rate, what with it being essential to the body and all, but for now... It appears to be necessary." He glared at the young ash-haired genin as she huffed. They sat in awkward silence, until Kakashi stumbled up, "I need to interrogate Haku. Sasuke, where is he tied?"

"She, sensei."

He blinked, turning towards Kimiko-chan, "What?"

Kimiko-chan continued looking away, "Haku-chan's a girl right now, I talked to her recently and she told me."

Kakashi nodded, being transgender really wasn’t that much of a big deal, "All right, then, so where is she?"

Sasuke stood up, "Just outside, sensei. I'll show you." He led Kakashi out to a shed within which the young girl was tied up to a post. She had a dainty face with long hair.

Said girl looked at him straight in the eye, "I don't suppose you'll finally kill me, now?" It was a desperate plea for death, stated so casually that Kakashi was rightly disturbed.

"Why do you think we're gonna kill you?" He asked in a gentle lighthearted tone. The girl stared impassively back, "You've killed Zabuza-sama. Why would you care enough to spare me?"

Kakashi inclined his head, noting Sasuke discreetly leaving, "Why do you want to die so badly?" The girl looked at her feet, "I've got no purpose anymore. Nothing and no one wants me or needs me. I'd rather die than live with no purpose."

"Maybe you could find a new purpose?" Kakashi suggested Haku-San shook her head, "I'm not Kimiko-senpai, who changes their purpose every other minute."

Senpai, huh? Kimiko-chan didn't mention they were close. The Yuki clan girl must have caught his questioning gaze since she replied, "Kimiko-senpai was the only person to train with me after Zabuza-sama and I left Kiri. She always insisted that in terms of chakra and traditional taijutsu, I was the better skilled, but I don't believe that. This is the first time I've seen her in seven years and if anything she has become much more powerful. It was foolish of me to attempt to overpower her."

"What was your old purpose, anyways?" Kakashi asked, curious to see what the kid would say.

"My purpose, was to protect those who are precious to me." Haku answered Ah, so that was it.

"Maybe your purpose hasn't ended yet." Kakashi suggested casually, "Kimiko-chan is precious to you, right? She found a new purpose in Konoha, maybe you'll find one too."

"I have fond memories of my last Village." Haku mused, "The good memories were outnumbered by bad ones, though. Will Konoha be similar?" Kakashi shook his head,

"Konoha isn't as... Cruel. I guess you could say. You were in the Anbu, while in Kiri, right?"

Haku nodded, "I was put into the Hunter-nin division almost immediately after Zabuza-sama found me." Kakashi nodded,

"The information you have with you about Kiri's inner workings, no matter how outdated, will be very useful. It might convince the Council to grant you citizenship, maybe even make you an official Konoha ninja."

Haku stared blankly at him, "That doesn't seem to be the smartest way to deal with a possible sleeper agent."

Kakashi shook his head, "Oh, it's not like we won't put you under a microscope and analyse your every move. Quite the opposite, really. But we could use your kekkei genkai to our advantage."

Haku hummed, "That doesn't sound so bad." she admitted Kakashi gave him an eye-smile,

"Yeah, well, we're gonna need you alive for that to happen, and I need to make sure you don't make a break for it, or do something worse... So you'll be staying here for the next three weeks, got it?" Haku nodded, like she expected as much, which really made sense. Kakashi let himself out of that shed and limped back into the house, where the four were already sitting at the table.

Sasuke-kun asked, "So... What's the plan?"

Kakashi rubbed his neck, "We're gonna stay here, protect Tazuna-San until his bridge is finished. Then we'll return to Konoha with Haku-san." Sakura was the pnext one to ask, "Sensei, but we beat Momochi Zabuza! Will anyone else even attack?" Kakashi looked at her, disappointment in his eye, "There will be other ninja, most definitely, but they won't be of Zabuza's skill. We must never let our guard down, understand?" They nodded and he relaxed, "Now, I'm going to take you out into the woods, we'll start training on your chakra control, come on!" Kimiko-chan looked up from where she was fiddling with the bone that was sticking out, "Sensei, shouldn't someone be guarding Tazuna-San?"

Kakashi smiled with his eye, "You're right. Since you can already tree-walk, you can sit this one out and go keep an eye on Tazuna." Kimiko-chan nodded, "Hai, understood."

* * *

So maybe I hadn't been completely truthful about exactly how close Haku and I were. I'll admit, I'm a bit self-conscious about the terrible company I had become a part of. That was probably why I didn't mention that part of our relationship. Haku had been the only one to see me escaping into the night that I rejoined my brother. So, as I followed Tazuna-San around, I found myself thinking about the time we first met... _I ran through the barren trees, following Kimimaro, when Kimimaro stopped in front of two ninja, one young with a feminine face, the other a veteran with bandages covering most of his face "Are you from Kiri?"_

_the older man gruffly responded, "No." I felt like snorting both of them had on hitai-ate from kiri! but Kimimaro bought it, and continued forward. I didn't move, instead I blurted out, "Do you think the war is stupid too?"_

_Bandage-San stopped, "Why do you think that, kid?" He asked in a gruff voice_

_I gave him a no-nonsense look, "You carry a sword that is worthy of being one of the Seven Swords of Kiri, and you have a Kiri hitai-ate. The only reason you'd be leaving in the middle of a battle is if you're defecting."_

_He may have smirked, but I couldn't tell, "You're smarter than you look, kid."_

_I blurted out, "Do you have a purpose? Outside of what fools tell you to do?"_

_He looked back at the road, "Why? You want one better than dying here?"_

_I nodded, "That would be nice."_

_The young girl hiding behind Bandage-San chose this moment to speak up, "Zabuza-sama, maybe she can come with us. She'll be useful to you."_

_Bandage-San nodded, "Say, kid, can you use the Shikotsumyako?" I nodded, extending bones from every joint to demonstrate. He smirked, "Well, you might be worth hanging around." He cackled, "Come on, brat."_

_The girl looked at me as Zabuza walked away, "Will you come with us?"_

_I shrugged, "Well, it'll be a shame to die for the fuckers I called family."_

_"C'mon you two, pick up the pace before I kill you!" Zabuza snarled and the two of us swiftly jogged behind him. I had spent nearly one month with Zabuza and Haku._

_It had been much better than whatever the hell my life had been before. I sparred against Haku, as fiercely as if I had been in the war myself. We hunted dinner and killed the rare Hunter-nin who managed to track us down. I assassinated quite a few people, but never grew to enjoy it. I was sent to do all the chores, and right now, that meant getting water. I knelt by the river, filling the first canteen with water, before hearing a rustle. Instantly, my guard was up. My hearing sharpened, my eyes narrowed, bones made their way right under the exit points for the Larch Dance. I located the threat. A familiar looking ashy-haired figure, with olive eyes and red dots for eyebrows. He blinked when I spotted him, "Imouto, what are you doing here, didn't you die?" He calmly asked._

_I scoffed internally, "I'm not ready to die, Aniki." I told him blankly._

_He nodded as if he understood, "Where do you live now?" He asked_

_I stared him in the eye, "Zabuza-san needed henchmen. He gave me a better purpose."_

_He smiled a little at that, "So, you are happy?"_

_I looked coldly at him, "We are shinobi. We are not meant to be happy." Then, I tacked on, "What about you? Where are you now?"_

_He hummed, "I'm happy. Orochimaru-sama has helped make me strong. He offered me a home, a mission, a choice."_

_I didn't know what to say to that, but I struggled onwards, "Who is he?"_

_"One of the Sannin. With incredible power and knowledge. He's given me a dream, I never had one before, you know."_

_I knew, we used to talk to each other through the bars of our cells, "I guess this is goodbye then." I said impassively He nodded, tears misting his eyes, that shocked me._

_We had learnt to keep our faces forever blank, yet here was my older brother, crying, "I am sorry we will not enjoy our freedom together. I hope we won't end up on the other sides of a battlefield."_

_"_ _I hope so too."_

_"Orochimaru-sama would love to have you around. You would fit right in with everyone." He said, tears still brimming, "You're my only real family. I couldn't bear leaving you behind. I know you've been hurting ever since Kubo was executed, but this will be good for you."_

_I felt something squirm in my chest, Sadness? "I-I'll miss you greatly too, Imouto. Do you really think Orochimaru will have a place for me?" He nodded fervently, showing more emotion than ever, "Yes, absolutely. He wants to learn every jutsu in the world, and will spread his knowledge to everyone once it's done." I always approved of knowledge. I had wanted to know how the world around us worked. I wanted to know about chakra, about animals, politics, everything. Anything to understand why I had been treated the way I had. This seemed like a good place to start. "Understood, brother. I'll meet you here tonight, alright?" He nodded and Body-Flickered away, leaving me alone. I went back with the filled water canteens and acted like nothing happened the rest of the day, but Haku seemed to notice. If Zabuza did too, he didn't care about me too much to worry. As I snuck out quietly with my sparse equipment, Haku appeared in front of me. It took all my self-control not to stab him in the gut on reflex. He took in the scene, "So you're leaving." He noted, not asked._

_I nodded, "I won't see you again."_

_Haku nodded, "I understand. Who is he?" "_

_Orochimaru, incredibly powerful. He has taken in my brother."_

_He smiled a little, "I see, you're following your precious person. You're not interfering with my purpose, so I will not do anything. But if you ever try to lay a finger on Zabuza-sama, I will not hesitate to destroy you, no matter how much I like you."_

_I_ _inclined my head, "My feelings exactly." He sighed, "We did not know each other for long, Kimiko-senpai, but I believe with time, you would have become precious to me."_

_Blood rushed to my face but I didn't understand why, "Goodbye, Haku. I hope if we ever cross paths, it's not on a battlefield." I walked cooly away, meeting Kimimaro exactly where he told me. He smirked when I came near, then grabbed my shoulder and led me away. To my new life, my new purpose, what could go wrong?_

A lot. That's fricking what. I don't know what possessed me to go with Kimimaro. Maybe because I knew killing meaninglessly was not my thing. Maybe my curiosity just made it impossible to ignore. I had hoped to leave behind everything in that portion of my life, but here I was with Haku, crushing his hopes for our next encounter. I had destroyed her precious one, yet she still called me senpai. It was something I wasn't worthy of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To show how weird there friendship is, Kimiko and Haku cheerfully parted ways with heartfelt words and promises of bloody vengeance if the other ever hurt those that are precious to them. Yet they still were on very good terms. Just fun stuff like that!


	8. I don't even know

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I literally do not know. Gatō hired a lot more goons and Kiyoko promptly forget she was an assassin on par with Haku.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I needed this flashy scene. Don't know why. Just needed it.

I dodged between people, listening to Tazuna-San as he talked about the poverty of his village, my bone arm sword bumping against the back of my head in a steady rhythm. It was kind of dull, listening to the stories of starving people stuck in an island. It may seem cold-hearted, but I had lived through war, I had been captured by a madman and observed like some rare insect by that same psychopath. Then I had been nearly starved to death, and now ended up with my arm sticking mostly out of its flesh coating, excuse me if I'm unsympathetic. I had to admit that they were doing good, making the bridge and loosening Gatō's grip. That was way better than how I had handled my situation, even if I had been 7 at the time. We got ingredients for dinner, then I stood guard over him while he finished up work with the calculations of the bridge. We came back some time before dinner and I was met with the sight of Sasuke with twigs in his hair, and Naruto covered in scratches. "Wow. Is tree walking all that difficult?" I asked nonchalantly.

Sasuke glared at me, "Easy for you to say, you were tortured into learning this."

I winced at his sharp words, I should have become used to it by now, but Sasuke must be in a real foul mood to throw such a barbed remark at me. Naruto-kun scowled for me, "Watch it, Bastard! Isn't she your friend?"

Sasuke looked tiredly back, "Hn." I interpreted the message immediately as, 'I'm so sorry! Will you ever forgive me?'

I smirked back, "No harm done, Sasuke. Naruto-kun, you really don't have to stand up for m

e. I can do it myself if I want to."

The blond looked fairly sheepish at that, but then Sakura walked in before we could continue, "Hey, Fossil-chan! You'll never guess what happened today!" She trilled shrilly, like some kind of whistle.

I raised an eyebrow, "Shoot."

She hopped on her toes, "I was able to perfectly tree-walk on my first try! Can you believe it! I bet you didn't manage to do it on your first go!" She gloated, before sneaking a look at Sasuke.

So she was trying to prove herself as better than me to get into Sasuke's good books, eh? Well, time to put her down, that was what a good best friend was required to do; ward off stupid stalkers. "I'm not surprised you got it on your first try, Sakura-chan." I said, which must have confused Sakura, "The smaller a shinobi's chakra reserves are, the easier it is to control. Even I didn't get it done for the first three years of my life."

It took a few seconds for her to understand, then her happiness melted away in place of her wrath at the insult. She lunged for me, but Sasuke grabbed the collar of her dress and scowled at us, "Sit down, you two." He hissed. I complied, Sakura glared at me for getting her in trouble with Sasuke, but I really couldn't bring myself to care. Kakashi-Sensei walked in without a sound and looked up from his book when he saw me, "Kimiko-chan, status report?"

I robotically answered, "Nothing much happened, no suspicious figures or anything but tension is high, the people seem to be waiting for something bad to happen."

Sakura's eyebrows furrowed, "How can you tell, Fossil-chan?"

My eye twitched at the moniker, "It's like before the Hiding in Mist Massacre. There was that sort of expectant hush, all tense and everything, like the people have a feeling that something awful is gonna happen and but they don't know what it is exactly or when it's gonna happen."

Naruto looked at me with his nose all scrunched up, "What's the Hiding in Mist Massacre?"

I didn't respond, my mind back to thinking about the dark all-engulfing mist, the ninja silently cutting through it, fierce warriors falling dead with barely a whimper. I remembered the oppressive feel of all that killing intent makeitstophurtsKUBOburnsKAASAN- "Kimiko-chan!" Kakashi Sensei said in a concerned yet steady voice. I took a deep breath as he slowly used the bone sticking out of my shoulder to manoeuvre me down, "Sakura-chan, you should be more careful about the things you say." He chided and Sakura chan looked extremely unapologetic.

"But Sensei, what was that about?" She asked.

Kakashi Sensei sent me a careful glance and I grimaced, "I'll be fine, get on with your story." My heart was still racing and all my reflexes were as taut as possible, if anyone even touched me, I would probably have impaled them in five different vital spots.

Kakashi Sensei kept his voice low "I'll tell you later, Sakura-chan. After dinner."

Dinner was odd, to say the least. We finally met Inari-San, this little bastard who I was inches away from punching. Tazuna-San told us his story, how his father figure died opposing Gatō, and he was now stuck in the belief that heroes didn't exist. I knew that heroes didn't exist, but everyone worth anything had a purpose, and only cowards and fools would be scared away from their purposes. So, I didn't stop Naruto when he lost his patience with the little bastard. I stalked outside instead and listened to the yelling while I headed to Haku's shed. We had made a more permanent cell in the shed than before, he could walk around the shed, two hands loosely bound to the centre pole so he could do his business on one side of the admittedly large shed and have a futon on the other end. He turned slightly to me when I came in, "Kimiko-senpai. It is good to see you."

I huffed as I looked at him, "Stop calling me senpai, Haku."

"But you are my senior." He blandly answered and I shook my head in exasperation.

"How are you dealing with losing Zabuza?" I asked, changing the subject.

He looked away, "I don't understand why you don't kill me already. I am a faulty weapon, a broken tool. I'm not worthy to live."

I scowled, "We discussed this Haku, one failure doesn't mean you deserve death. You deserve a chance. Hokage-sama may not out rightly accept you, but you're useful. A little psychoanalysis with a Yamanaka and a quick meeting later, you would probably not be killed."

"That is very reassuring." He replied.

I blanched, "Was that sarcastic? I can't tell with you. I didn't know you had discovered sarcasm."

Haku blinked, "I picked up the basics from Zabuza-sama, but I'm not sure of its practicality yet."

I laughed, "There is no combative purpose, it's just a type of humor."

Haku didn't understand by the looks of it. He quickly changed the subject, "Are you still being haunted by the past?"

My smile tightened falsely, "No. Goodbye, Haku."

I walked back up to the house, locking the doors behind me and went up to the room given to our Squad. I could hear Sensei's quiet words as he spoke to Sakura and Naruto. "The Hiding in Mist Massacre was the first battle against the Kaguya clan and Kirigakure. The whole battlefield was shrouded in the chakra-infused mist that Zabuza used earlier. It was meant to be a simple matter of assassinating all the members with high positions in the clan. But the Kaguya were quick on the uptake, within seconds the whole place was so dense with the fog that you couldn't see one foot ahead of you. Neither side was able to see clearly and it devolved into a mad dash of claiming as many victims as possible. It was so quiet that no one outside the battlefield knew what was happening." I could remember it all in clarity, every gasp and sharp intake of breath as another soft splat of blood hit the ground. I remembered the mad voice of the patriarch, telling me to win this one for them that I'd finally be treated as one of them if I did. I bit my tongue to ground myself in the present and tried to get myself to leave but I stayed there to hear the end, "Many shinobi accidentally struck down their own. It was absolute bloodshed. History will say the Kaguya clan won the battle, since they managed to get Kiri to retreat, but their numbers were down to a quarter to what they had been before. Some villages say the only reasons they even managed to hold out that long were the only two Kaguya capable of using the Shikotsumyako." People falling, _ **bloodscreamsImnomonster! BrainseyeballstwistedappendagesstopitnonononopainSADNESS KUBO-NII!**_ "One of those two is your teammate, the other was her brother."

"Kimimaro." Sasuke supplied helpfully,

"Exactly. She's got a lot of blood on her hands, and I think you realised that somehow. But what with Zabuza's reappearance, I think we should watch our words around Kimiko-chan, alright Sakura-chan?"

He had just an undertone of steel but Sakura heard it clearly, she gulped, "Hai, Sensei..." _**Kaa-chan's eyes closingwhenistabbedhersnowstainedredBONESeverywhereRiBsSKullSHEadsrollingSTOPStopSTopNoNononO**_. I stalked inside, conscious of the wary eyes, unrolled my futon and promptly fell asleep with the shoulder bone digging into my neck.

* * *

_FIresBloodSteaMINgwaTereVERYwheReTHouSaNdsSEnbOnstICKIngout,WHY?! I was back in the battlefield of the Hiding in Mist Massacre. Quiet as a shadow, any noise could give me away. I stabbed and slashed my way through, reaching my target-What was my target?- but someone dashed out at the last second to shield them. I thoughtlessly decapitated them, only doing a double take when I saw a familiar mop of blue hair. Aoi's head looked up, glassy-eyed NOnoNOnOMoNSTer! WHathaDiDoNE? The scene changed to Kaito smiling sadistically as he hung onto the bone sword that had impaled him, then to Sasuke, with Digital Shrapnel bullets stuck in both eyes clawing angrily at me, blindly. MAkeitStOpPLeasEpleASE!_

_It changed. The scene changed. I was back in my cage listening to all the others. There were quite a few of us. Once. I think there were ten of us. But at least five died before they were six. I heard the screams and sobs of another two toddlers, but eventually they were silenced too. That left me, the boy on my right, and the...thing on the left of my cell._

_I didn't know what the thing was. It ran around its cage a lot, screaming and yelling and clawing wildly. I used to shrink away from that wall whenever I heard its yells, scared that it would come for me. Every so often, the screaming and the yelling would recede, and the monster would shrink back into the darkness of its cell. The guards were scared of it too, never coming near when he was in one of those moods, but purposely riling it up and laughing at it from afar. I remember when I first gathered up the courage to talk to it. "H-Hello?" I had stammered, "Is a-anyone in there?"_

_The raspy voice I had heard multiple times screaming about revenge and retribution answered hoarsely, "Get the fuck away from me, you bitch! I don't wanna hurt you!"_

_I looked at him, "But you will if I approach you?" No answer, so I continued in my naïve little voice, "Why are you here?"_

_He came out from the shadows, so I could see the light orange hair, and terrified blown out eyes narrowed into slits, "What sort of fucked up question is that?" he asked, softly, his voice gaining volume as he continued,"I fought for this fucking clan, of course! I was just a kid, but I fought for them! The bridge between the Kaiju and the Kaguya! I fought for them both and all of their goddamned allies! That was what I fucking did! I. Helped. THEM! This is my reward! My karma for trusting assholes to accept me! They promised to help me! To keep my impulses in check, to stop me from hurting others. This, wasn't what I wanted." he was crying now. And I bit my lip._

_"But I didn't do that." I observed._

_He looked at me, "Course you didn't. You're a midget bastard. You weren't even around when the damn war ended."_

_So I looked at him, "Then why am I here?"_

_He shook his head, "Cause you're a Kaguya who uses the Shikotsumyako. That clan patriarch douche locks up every random bastard with our kekkei genkai."_

_I looked at him tearfully, "Why?"_

_He reached through the bars and patted my head, "Cause we're demons" he mocked._

_I looked at him, "I'd rather be a demon than a Kaguya."_

_He laughed hollowly, "Don't be like that! When you're a Kaguya with the kekkei genkai, you can do some crazy shit."_

_I curiously pressed my face to the bars, "Like what?"_

_He gave me a closed eye-smile, "You can immortalise the important things in life. Because bones will survive through anything." He showed me his hand, and slowly bones rose up from them, melding together to form the kanji for demon. He held it up so I could properly see, plucking out one of his bone-laden orange hair, and threading it through a loop on the top of the kanji. Once complete, he linked the two ends of the long hair together by fusing the bone together. He offered it to me and I looked at it curiously, he grinned widely, "To remind us of who we are, ne?"_

_I nodded and took the accessory with trembling fingers. He showed me how to put it around my neck. I looked up at the boy, barely thrice my age. "I don't understand." I managed, "If you're so nice. Why're you always screaming?"_

_He rubbed his hair, "Don't get used to it, midget. You looked at little too terrified for me to be comfortable with. I'm a fucking demon everywhere else. But mostly its because my natural affinity of drawing in nature energy tends to make me transform and drive me insane every so often. I react really violently to my emotions, and my kekkei genkai just emphasises that. Don't let it get to you, 'kay?_ _"_

_I nodded and smiled back at him. "Sure! I didn't mean to be scared before! What's your name, anyway?"_

_He laughed brightly, "It's Kubo. Kaiju Kubo. But you can call me Kubo-nii-chan! I always wanted to be a nii-chan! Nice to meet ya, but...who are ya?"_

_I laughed, trying to mimic the sound "Aniki calls me Kimiko! Kaguya Kimiko!"_

_It was barely five months later. Kubo-nii-chan was nice. To some extent. He still screamed and yelled and banged on the cage walls from time to time. But it didn't scare me anymore. Then, guards came crashing in. Blood-screams-death. Fire.. Kubo-nii-chan's transformed state. PAIN. I remembered standing infront of him, staring down at him as they chained him up, the clan patriarch muttered, "He's too emotional, that boy. Takes things too seriously. Hazard. Corrupting the little demon. Kill him." the voices loomed over me, "Kill him! Kill the little demon bastard! Burn him! Burn him! Skewer him alive!"_

_He looked up at me in resignation. Fear glittering in them. But also...acceptance. I didn't want this. I didn't want this! Stop! Stop! "It's okay, Kimiko." he offered gently, as if he wasn't being forced to his knees bound in chains and chakra suppression seals. "Do it." he closed his eyes, and I gripped the kunai. I won't do it. Won'twon'twon't! The necklace. The one I had worn since he gave it to me, flew forward. I grabbed at it, but too late, the edges turned razor sharp, and it hit his jugular vein. Making it appear as if I was responsible. He fell, Nonoonnonono. ThiSwAS'nT meANtOhAppen. KUBO!_

_He gurgled, "Keep the necklace safe. Kimiko. It's yours. Dont-Don't let it be found." KUboNiIchaN. That was my first kill. Anikirubbedmyback. Sobbingsobbingsobbing. So So So sad. WHY?!_

* * *

I woke up in cold sweat, and took a few deep breaths as I walked outside. The cold salty air was so jarringly familiar I wanted to burst into tears, but I barely ever cried, I wasn't gonna give in to emotions on a mission. I shifted my bones for the comforting feel of them swirling inside me. Grounding me. "Penny for your thoughts?" A calm voice beside me asked and I spun around so fast I was whacked by my own arm bone.

Kakashi-Sensei was standing there, reading his book. Kami, did he ever sleep? I sighed, "Bad dreams. Nothing to worry about Sensei."

"Do those panic attacks happen often?" He asked nonchalantly. I frowned, did he not hear me? "No, never, nightmares have happened occasionally. But panic attacks..."

Kakashi-Sensei nodded, "I suppose Zabuza using the Hiding in Mist jutsu brought back bad memories."

I bit my lip, "Yeah, but how can I be a ninja if I have random panic attacks?"

He sighed, "Listen, you didn't panic in the midst of the battle itself, right? Panic attacks afterwards are always common. Don't let it get you down."

I leaned on the barrier looking out at sea, "Thanks, Sensei. You're a great listener."

He eye-smiled, "I know." then poofed away. That son of a bitch used a shadow clone! Last fricking time I'm grateful to him!

The next three days passed like that, me and Sakura-Chan watching Tazuna-San get on with his work with building the bridge, and Sasuke and Naruto-kun practicing tree-walking. Kakashi-Sensei just drifted between the two groups, or did his own thing. I still hated him for making me look like an idiot with his shadow clone.

Things picked up at the end of the week, which was also the first time when Sasuke and Naruto-kun would come with us to guard Tazuna-San. Kakashi-Sensei (Surprise surprise) was nowhere to be found. We went to the bridge, making sure nothing was amiss. The tension in the villagers had risen everyday, and now it seemed to have reached its peak. Call it ninja sense but I had a feeling something big was gonna go down today…

* * *

Sakura hated Kimiko-chan. That was the truth. Ever since she had come into the village five years ago, Sakura had hated her. It wasn't just that she believed Ino-pig-chan's story of him taking her out on a date. She had seen it herself, Sasuke-kun holding on to her hand as he led her through the crowds. It had crumpled something inside of her, and she couldn't understand why Sasuke-kun would take her on a date at all. That weird white hair and red tattoos on her cheek were ugly and awful. She was such a freak, with that bone thing, even if she was so lovely and thin with long hair exactly like Sasuke-kun likes. Sakura had been so happy when she didn't show up, maybe the whole date had been imagined, Sasuke-kun would never date a civilian! Then she had shown up and Sasuke-kun had sit beside her. She had been so crushed! Kimiko-Chan was always so frustratingly calm and blank. It infuriated her to even talk to her. She didn't blush when someone asked her about Sasuke-kun's date with her, she didn't appear even the slightest bit hurt when someone threw a wishbone at her or stuffed fish bones in her bag. It made her angry that someone failed to understand what bullying was. She disappeared for weeks on end— even though the frequent absences grew lesser over the years— and no one even acknowledged it. She had once gone to the trouble of asking Sasuke-kun about it and he had offhandedly told her she was sick. She remembered when Iruka-Sensei had asked her to give some homework to Kimiko when she was sick. She had been greeted by a ridiculously cute boy, in bedraggled and torn clothes that would've looked even cuter if they had been coloured anything but bright green and orange. He had looked lazily at her, "Yeah?" Sakura had opened her mouth then blushed and covered her mouth. The boy had looked confused, "You're Haruno Sakura, right?" He had said slowly.

Sakura had blushed even more at that, "H-how did you my name?" She had squeaked.

The kid had scrunched his eyebrows, "There's a kid with an elder brother who currently grades the tests you guys get. An assistant teacher or something. You're apparently the only one in your year with pink hair. Also, Kimiko hates you."

Sakura had let out an eep, "How did you know?!"

The kid had looked back inside, "I like to think I know a lot of things. I would be in the T&I department, but senbon freak me out too much for me to be a ninja. You're here for Kimiko, right?"

Sakura had blushed even more, "Uh yeah… but what's your name?"

The kid had let out an impatient sigh, "Kaito. You've been standing there blushing for way too long. Either come in and see her or leave."

Sakura had been a little hurt, but she had shrugged it off. It wasn't fair, all the cute boys hanging around her, taking care of her, laughing with her, training with her. Now, she had always been aware of that weird brutality about her, the feeling that she had killed better ninja than Sakura and yet was still alive, but to be made aware of exactly how much she killed, that she turned the tide of an entire battle with her brother, that had scared her. It scared her now, too, to watch Kimiko-chan looking around in that tense way. Something was about to happen, she just knew it! Then when the short man in the tuxedo popped up, surrounded by a mob, she wished she hadn't known. Sasuke-kun immediately took a stance to attack him, but Kimiko-chan held out her hand, stopping him. "Identify yourself."

He smiled sadistically, "Gatō. And I'm afraid this bridge has to go." Sakura's skin crawled at the way he smiled. Before anyone could react, Kimiko-chan flashed through hand signs, "Suiton: Water wall!" And a huge barrier of water smashed upwards, she turned to the three of us, "We should strategise. There are too many of them for a full frontal assault, so we've got to be smart."

Sasuke looked through the boundary, "Kill Gatō first. Once they find out they're not getting paid, they'll back out."

Kimiko-chan hummed, "Yeah. Two of us carve a path right through. While Naruto-kun's shadow clones sneak up around the perimeter and surround the mob."

Naruto-kun grinned, "Yeah, that sounds like a solid plan, believe it!"

Sakura hesitated, "wait, what do I do?" She asked.

The other three exchanged a glance and simultaneously answered, "Guard the Bridge Builder." Sakura bit her lip as the wall fell and the other three charged out. She stood in front of Tazuna-San and watched the others go into battle. She had always been shoved into the sidelines, she probably wouldn't have passed if it hadn't been for Kimiko-chan deciding to take pity on her. The mob turned out to be a lot tougher than the three thought it would be. Kimiko-chan and Sasuke-kun barely held their own against them as they charged straight to Gatō. A couple of the several hundred clones surrounding the mob dispelled in a couple of minutes. Kimiko-chan was swaying and twirling, pulling out all the stops in her Willow Dance, occasionally even throwing kunai, senbon and shuriken from her weapons pouch, something she almost never did. Sasuke was covered in cuts as the two moved back to back through the crowd, a perfect well oiled machine. The thought made her sad. High pressure water gushed around, fire was tossed around recklessly. Paper bombs went up everywhere. Every so often the whole bridge would light up with an explosion caused by her Black Rain jutsu combined with Sasuke-kun's incredible Fire style jutsus.

The people fell quickly in some cases, in others… not so much. The perimeter of Naruto clones kept on dispelling and recreating. Then a shout went up from Naruto-kun, "REGROUP!" The three immediately ran back to where Sakura was standing in front of the Bridge Builder. Sasuke-kun and Fossil-chan looked tired, covered with bruises and a couple open wounds. Naruto-kun on the other hand, looked ready to continue fighting the rest of the day. He looked really panicked, "Guys! They have reinforcements! I saw them coming while I was holding the perimeter!"

Fossil-chan gritted her teeth, "They outnumber us... What do we do?"

It took Sakura some time to realise what happened. Fossil-chan was always calm and collected, always strategising. She had thought that Fossil-chan would have at least a vague idea of what to do, but here she was, asking for a strategy. It was unnerving... "Fossil-chan, can you do the Hiding in Mist jutsu like Zabuza could?" She found herself asking.

Kimiko nodded, "Yeah, but I have reservations about using it."

Sakura smirked, "I think I got a plan." She looked towards Naruto-kun, "Send your clones as distractions. Make them Henge into us so that they don't realise we're not there."

Naruto-kun grinned foxily, "Will do! Believe it!"

His clones ran at the growing crowd of criminals and Sakura beckoned them all closer, "Okay... So this is the plan.…"

The four genii broke their huddle and nodded at each other. Fossil-chan put her hands up in a single seal; "Ninja Art: Hiding in Mist jutsu!" The heavy chakra-infused mist descended on the mob, making them tense. Naruto-kun's other shadow clones dispelled and were replaced by new ones. Sasuke-kun and Sakura made ordinary clones and had them mix in with Naruto's clones. Fossil-chan made several Water Clones as well. The sheer number of clones had the mob doing a double-take. It didn't help that the mist made it difficult to tell what were illusions, solid clones or actual people. The team circled around, knocking out the ones at the edge of the crowd, well Sakura was doing that, but she saw some bodies covered with an excessive amount of blood and occasionally without heads. Their advantage of supposed numbers died quickly as the mob got over their surprise and they continued mêlée battle. They were pushed back, though, even after putting a dent in their numbers and Gatō still wasn't dead. The four surrounded Tazuna-San in Manji formation to regroup. Things were looking bad. Sakura wasn't quite able to see what the others had been doing, spacial awareness wasn't something she was worried about in the heat of battle. Fossil-chan wasn't looking too good, her straw-like grey hair clotted in blood and in complete knots, she was breathing rapidly, her pupils shaking and Sakura remembered what Kakashi-Sensei told her about the silent battle in Kirigakure. Fossil-chan was gonna have a breakdown any second now... She had to find another strategy... Think, think, think!

Kimiko and Sasuke blew up the back of the amateur army with their Black Rain/Fireball or paper bomb combo, "I'm almost out of chakra. Seriously, where the fuck is Kakashi-Sensei?" She growled and Sakura winced, her parents would have a heart attack if she ever said stuff like that, yet Fossil-chan tossed around swear words like it was nothing.

"Hn. I don't know, but I sure as he'll hope he fucking gets here now!" Sasuke-kun grouched.

Then things got weird. Around the slowly dwindling hoard, sheets of ice solidified from thin air. Senbon flashed through the sheets and the captives of the cage howled in unison. A gust of wind blew behind the four extremely tired genii and suddenly, Kakashi-Sensei was standing there, looking seriously around, "Is everyone alright? We ran into more than a little trouble."

Fossil-chan, that bitch, glared at Sensei, "You're an absolute asshole, you know that? Where were you?"

Sakura gasped, "Fossil Freak! You can't just say that!"

Fossil-chan looked at her, "Are you gonna stop me? Go ahead, I fucking dare you!" Her tone was lightly taunting, but her face remained cooly serene.

Kakashi-sensei looked at them both sternly. "Maa, stop it you two. Since you asked, I was fending of an attack at Tazuna-san's house, an attempt to take his family hostage. I had some trouble with them since I was still suffering from chakra exhaustion. I brought Haku-San along for reinforcements, and we've already made sure no other reinforcements stop by."

In the ice dome, the hailstorm of senbon ceased and out of the closest ice slab, Haku-San stepped out. Fossil-chan wrapped him in a half-hug, which was something she almost never did, not even with Sasuke, who was her best friend. "You're a fucking lifesaver, you know that, right?" She asked.

When Haku had nodded she smirked back, "Good, cause I feel like I'm about to pass out any moment now. Is Gatō secure?"

Haku looked back at the pile of unconscious bodies, "Most of them are unconscious. Some are in temporary death state, but the man who sent Zabuza-sama to his death is dead."

Kimiko-chan grimaced, "Good riddance." Then she swayed back and forth, "I really need to sit down." Sasuke sighed, "Come on, then. We should head back."

Kakashi-Sensei nodded, "Yeah, let's go. Haku-san, even if you helped us this once, I really don't trust you. I need to put chakra-blocking handcuffs on you."

Haku-San merely held out his hands, and Kakashi-Sensei clicked them into place. Then they all limped back, like the victors they were. Inari was jumping up and down when he saw them coming. "Did you win? Did you win?" He asked, Sakura had never seen him so excited.

Kakashi-Sensei nodded towards him, "Hai." And Inari let out a whoop. He was uncharacteristically cheerful. Fossil-chan groaned, massaging the knobbly piece of bone sticking out from her shoulder, "Celebrate quieter." She order, "I need sleep."


	9. Return to Konoha

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We have returned to Konoha! Team Gai makes an appearance, and poor Kimiko just can't stop being injured.

I spent the next week hovering between my teammates and Haku. I knew Kakashi-Sensei had actually been worried, even though he pretended he hadn't shown up before because we could handle it. Haku had told me that Gatō had bought a lot of criminals to get his goal. Sensei had been desperate enough to free him, so it made sense. I spent most of the time shut up in the room we had been given to not overextend myself, due to all that chakra I used to battle the hoard. The only thing that made it better was that Sasuke was stuck on bed rest too, and it was amusing to listen to him whine his ass off. But finally, the torture was over! We were finally heading back! Still at civilian pace because Kakashi-Sensei was reaching mother-hen levels of over protectiveness. I mean, fuck, man, how else do I get rid of my frustrations?!

We dragged Haku back all the way in chakra-blocking handcuffs and covered in a shit ton of seals. Seriously, it was ridiculous! But we got to Konoha just fine. Izumo and Kotetsu had stared at the bone sticking out of my arm (I still had a few weeks before the nerves grew back.) but they made no comment except telling us to head over to the Hokage's office. The Hokage had smiled when we came in, "Good to see you're all in good shape. I heard your mission got an upgrade."

We all nodded, Kakashi-Sensei gave his mission report, Bridge builder.… ya da ya da… Zabuza…Haku prisoner… Success! The Hokage cast a curious look at Haku, who stared back, awestruck. "Take him to T&I." He said to seemingly no one, then a black-clad man in a mask flickered in, bowed, grabbed Haku and flickered away.

I glared at where he was, then I turned towards the Hokage, not exactly angry, but irked a little, "Will he be alright?" I asked softly.

I saw something shift in his eyes. Pity? Possibly. "If he cooperates and proves to be capable of integrating into Konoha, we'll try and keep him around.

But I won't promise anything, Kimiko-chan." He replied. I bowed respectfully, "It is no problem, Hokage-sama." and we all walked out. Then, I was immediately ambushed by a ball of blue. They put her arms around in me in an attempt to strangle me. Kakashi-Sensei tensed, with his hand on his hitai-ate. Naruto-kun and Sakura-chan stiffened and Sasuke pulled out a kunai. I immediately fired up the Willow Dance, all my bones sticking out, my jacket thoroughly ruined, even after I worked so hard to keep it in good shape during the mission. I judo flipped the assailant, holding a bone at their neck, before realising it was Aoi. I rolled my eyes and released my hold, and she let out a sigh, Naruto-kun and Sakura-chan looked at her suspiciously while Sensei immediately relaxed. Sasuke was indifferent. I noticed Kaito in the background, laughing. Aoi smiled as she stood up, "Hey, you're ok! I heard about your mission!" I glared at her to shut up.

Kakashi-Sensei seemed interested, "How did you hear about it?"

Kaito spoke up, "Oh, a friend of mine has a brother who had this kid in the genii squad he was teaching, who has an older sister who-"

I spoke up, "Short version, Kaito."

He immediately switched gears, "Basically the news of C-rank turned A-rank and genii team handling it perfectly spread like wildfire. It'll be a miracle if someone doesn't know." Everyone nodded at that. Aoi continued her assault, "What the hell happened to your arm? Is anything broken?"

I glared at her and edged away, "I'm no longer sorry about flipping you over." I stated.

Kaito, however had gone to talk to Naruto while everyone else ran away ; "Hey, you're the one who painted the Hokage Monument! Everyone's been talking about it! You're a legend!"

Naruto grinned at that, "I am? Oh hell yes!"

Kaito nodded, "Naruto, right? I gotta take you to the others, you've got to tell us how you got up there wearing that stupid getup!"

Naruto squawked, "STUPID?! Hey, bub! If anything being able to get wearing this just proves how awesome of a ninja I am!"

Kaito grinned, "Whatever! You're still the best prankster I'm ever gonna meet, so you're okay in my books, come on!"

The two ran off, Aoi hot on their heels and I was left standing here. Alone, like always. It made me sad. Seeing Haku again had reminded me why I had bonded with him in the first place. I had related with him being persecuted for his kekkei genkai as part of the Yuki clan. Ever since I came to Konoha, I had stubbornly refused to see my position in the village, believing my position to be a thousand times better than my treatment outside. I was badly mistaken. I never realised how everyone ran away from me and sent me furtive glances, too wrapped up in my quest of catching Orochimaru and stopping him from taking over Kimimaro's body too notice the whispers and hisses of the Fossil Freak. I had hated crowds, always remembering the bitter-sweet time I spent with my clan. Aoi and Kaito had always taken pains to make sure I stayed far way from shopping districts and other places that I now realised absolutely despised my very existence, and would probably have hit me if it hadn't have been for the hitai-ate of Konoha which I wore. It was sad. I had never really cared, content with surviving, but not anymore. I was still happy to be here, but now, I actually gave a fuck as to how I was treated. It was like I finally woke up, and realised my situation, stopped being so thankful. I wanted to become stronger, stronger than anyone! I would catch Orochimaru and I will find my brother. I was a hunter, a returner, that was my only purpose! And I was gonna fulfil it. I rubbed the bone sticking out of my arm, reminding myself of my purpose.

I groaned, slashing at Sasuke with my Camellia dance. It had been about a month since we returned. Haku still hadn't been released. Fuck, I hadn't even seen him since we came back. My Camellia Dance was back and Kakashi-Sensei had been working us into the ground ever since that disastrous fight. And by us, I mean me. His argument was that I was the only one who hadn't ever worked on the style of taijutsu that was best suited for my kekkei genkai, which had been taught to me by the clan patriarch, but I refused to acknowledge it's very existence until now. So, here I was, spinning gracefully to avoid attacks and hit unexpected openings. I bent over backwards as he swung at me, Sasuke's arm passing inches away from my nose. I was up before he regained his balance, swiping his legs off the ground with my leg. He jumped, barely avoiding a Larch Dance elbow blade. He doubles back, panting heavily. Kakashi-Sensei claps slowly, "That's enough, Kimiko-chan. We'll keep working on it later!" I nodded uncertainly, no matter how lazy Kakashi-Sensei is, he's a real slave driver if he ever thinks his students are even in a slight danger of dying, it was kind of sweet. But not when I was the one who was being flambéed! And turned into a porcupine, and kicked to death, and drenched, and tortured and just plain worked to death and back! I limped back home, Naruto hot on my heels. He had taken to following me back home, ever since he had been fully integrated into Kaito's little spy network. He liked to join in with all the poker and other card games, since he has a real flair for it and apparently Konoha just doesn't have as many places for anyone to gamble. I entered the place, where nearly fifteen people were standing inside, and I froze, there were a lot more than usual. Then i saw Kaito grinning at me and shoving a cake my way and it took me a second to figure out what was going on, it was my birthday. Duh. I rolled my eyes, extended my index finger's distal, swiped out a big slice and walked off to my room, cradling the sweet goodie in my bare hands. Nobody acknowledged it further, not when I went to the library. Not when I practiced dancing with Hinata-chan. Not when I listened in on a nasty comment about Naruto killing the Yondaime by some civilians, which was absolutely ridiculous since he probably wasn't alive at the time. Then, Sasuke came up to me, "Hey, I heard it was your birthday." He commented.

I rolled my eyes, "Yeah? So what?"

He smirked, "You want some dinner?"

I blinked, "Yeah. Sure."

He smiled a little but it quickly disappeared. He just gave a Hn and grabbed my hand to steer me away, straight to Yakiniku Q, my favourite restaurant, not because I met Sasuke there, I wasn't a baby, but because they had the absolute best food I had ever tasted. It also was the first thing I tasted with any real flavour in it, so… I basically loved the stuff. I needed it to maintain all the energy I used up with the Shikotsumyako as well since it was made by ninjas who prepared delicious food that had benefits for your chakra. Sasuke just idly flipped the meat when it looked like it was too brown while I waited excitedly, we both knew my in capability to cook. I had already started eating, when a very familiar voice squealed out, "SASUKE-KUN! What are you doing here?" Ino-San excitedly ran up to him, before wilting when she saw me, she shot me a death glare which I was least affected by.

Behind her, Shikamaru-San, Chōji-kun, and Asuma-Sensei followed her when Ino icily said, "What're YOU doing here, Fossil freak?"

My eyebrow twitched at the moniker, and Shikamaru-San pinched the bridge of his nose, "Troublesome. Ino, do you have to call her that? One day she's going to lose it and try to assassinate you and even you have to admit that she's perfectly capable of it."

Ino-chan hesitated, so Chōji spoke up, "If Sasuke's here, it must a special occasion. What is it?"

I swallowed, "My birthday. No big deal."

Their eyes bugged out. "It's your birthday?" Chōji said, "How's that not a big deal? How old are you now?"

I was too busy chewing through my new bite and gestured for Sasuke to answer, "Hn. She's thirteen." He grouched.

I shuffled to the side, and patted the cushions beside me, "You guys wanna sit down?"

Shikamaru-San immediately sat down beside me, Chōji on my other side, and Ino sat next to Sasuke even when he kept glaring at her. Asuma-Sensei sat down at the head of the table, "I didn't know you two were friends with Kimiko." He ventured

Shikamaru-San just shrugged, "She used to make these bone pens for anyone in her good books who begged her enough. If she was sitting close enough to you, then she could subconsciously control the pen and make it do all the troublesome work."

Asuma-Sensei smirked, "And the teachers never caught on?"

I swatted Chōji's hand away from the last one and quickly ate it before he could, "Nope." I gasped out after I swallowed roughly. Sasuke clicked his tongue and gestured to the water glass right next to me. I quickly drank, enjoying Asuma-Sensei's dumbstruck look at teachers being so incompetent as to not realise a pen that is writing by itself.

"It's about the timing." I explained, "Knowledge is a very powerful shinobi tool and I like to think that knowledge about the chinks in the vision of an exam invigilator is very important."

He laughed, "Ever thought about joining T&I, Kaguya-San?"

My eyes glinted, "No, always interested, though."

He smiled at that, "Eh, I would suggest you try and see how well you do. You seem like you could go far."

My lips quirked up, "Maybe I will."

Sasuke got up, pulling away from Ino-chan, putting some money on the tabletop and walking away, ignoring Ino-chan's protest. I sighed and started eating again, "I should head back. Don't want Kaito and Naruto blowing something up."

Shikamaru-San chuckled drily, "That's hoping for the impossible. Those two were troublesome before, but now..."

I smirked back, "Can't stop me from hoping." I walked away, while everyone else dug in. I found Sasuke waiting outside, holding a parcel, which he threw at me. I caught it without even reacting. I looked at it curiously, ripping it open to reveal a new package of kunai, shuriken and spikes. There were two chakra weights there as well as what looked like scrolls on instruction of chakra strings and one on... Hidden Techniques... Of the... Shikotsumyako. "Where did you get this?" I asked flatly.

He looked away, unable to meet my eyes, which was a first for him since if someone glared at him, he'd glare kunai right back. Was he feeling GUILTY?! That was a terrifying thought, Sasuke being scared of whatever the fuck I was capable of if I was upset. "It was in the Uchiha Archives, no idea why. Since you had nothing to go on except your memory and everything you gleaned by terrifying the shit out of nurses until they agreed to give you assistance, I figured this would help." He replied, eyes steadfastly stuck on the two red dots on my cheek.

I forced my mouth into a small smile, it felt strange to smile out of pure happiness and not to convey mockery or sarcasm or just to put my victims –sorry, Resources Of Information– on edge and make them spill everything. "Thanks. I appreciate it." I said, then tucked the package in my weapons pouch before immediately going home through the window of my room and bypassing what seemed to be the worst karaoke session in all history happening in the living room. The privacy seal on my door dampened out most of the noise, so I slept like a log.

I woke up the next day, got dressed in my sleeveless red shirt then my green jacket and jeans, put on my restocked weapons pouch and hitai-ate, brushed my hair out and arranged the side ponytail a little before stepping out. Bodies littered the floor, it was eerily similar to the aftermath of my clan's destruction. Except, these bodies weren't dead, they were simply sleeping, the rise and fall of their chests obvious. I wall-walked over them and got out through the door. I went straight to training ground 7, usually I was the first one there, but this time, someone else was there. A weirdly familiar someone. A someone with the worlds worst fashion sense and severely lacking in sanity, it was Maito Gai. Still as freakishly weird as before. Gai had popped up a couple of times after my arrival, not too much ever since I accused him of being a pedophile, but whatever. He had been suspiciously absent for the last year, and here he was, "KIMIKO-CHAN! I See You Are The First One Here! Splendid! I Have Decided To Have A Joint Team Training Session! This is My Team!"

I blink slowly, my head still hurting from the literal exclamation marks bouncing off my head, before turning to look at a dark haired boy with white eyes I identified as a Hyuuga. Cross-referencing anything Kaito's friends have told me or I heard from the local gossip I realised quickly this was Hyuga Neji. Right next to him was a boy with the exact same awful green spandex as Gai, that and the stupid bowl cut and bushy eyebrows immediately gave me the idea of who I was facing, Rock Lee, the only ninja in the last decade to be unable to use anything except taijutsu. The girl next to the two was unidentified, so she was probably slightly less known. I told them my verdict, which they seemed to agree on but the girl looked a bit put out, "The name's Ten Ten! You better not forget it!" She said.

Lee was grinning, "You're Kaguya Kimiko, are you not? I Have Heard you practice the most powerful taijutsu! You Must teach me this style Immediately! And if I cannot Learn it In Three weeks, I will Water Walk to the land of Sea Itself!"

I stare at the idiot, does no one do any research before they say stuff like this? "Well, you better start running." I said drily. Lee-kun looked at me in confusion so I elaborated, "The Dance of Bones can only be used by a user of the Shikotsumyako and I'm positive that you are not a Kaguya."

He paused, before screeching, "WHAT?!"

Sasuke jumped down from a tree that meant he probably ninja-jumped till here, rubbing his ear, "It's seven in the morning. Keep it down."

I sat down and took out the scroll Sasuke had given to me, "These guys are here for a joint training session." I answered the unspoken question.

Sasuke nodded and sat down, "You should get comfortable." He drawled.

Neji-kun frowned, "Why?"

It was Naruto's voice which spoke up, "Cause Kakashi-Sensei takes a long-ass time to get here." How did he know that? I turned towards him, interrogation mode on, and he immediately put his hands up, "I heard it while I was coming here. Those two are really loud." He was right about that at least. I continued reading, looking at tips for chakra control and how to control bones not in contact. There were instructions for the best way to fight with it, focusing on graceful, fluid movements, mainly defense that had a shit-ton of recoil damage. No open frontal assault. Most of the stuff I already knew elaborated and stretched to fill several pages.

Around me Lee-kun started chopping down trees just by punching or kicking them a lot of times. Sakura showed up. No Kakashi-Sensei. Gai-san was telling a freaked out Sakura about a story of his eternal rival. Neji-kun practiced deflecting kunai and other weapons thrown by Tenten-chan. Still no Kakashi-Sensei. Naruto and Sasuke started sparring. Still. No. Fricking. Kakashi-Sensei. Neji-kun sighed, "Where even is your Sensei?"

I shrugged, "He's usually five hours late, so I'd be worried if he actually shows up on time."

TenTen-chan groaned, "That's just ridiculous! How is he a jonin like this?"

I stretched as I got up, popping my joints and rotating all my bones, "He may not look it, but he's terrifyingly strong. Sharingan no Kakashi; the copy ninja. A two-page section of the Bingo Book."

Neji-kun looked curious, "You read Bingo Books?"

I shrugged, "Information is a powerful tool. And bingo books are written for a reason."

TenTen-chan nodded, "Yeah, I was just curious."

Neji-kun looked oddly at the portion of humerus currently sticking out of my arms and the devil horns sticking over my bangs. "You have mastered the Bone Dances?" He finally asked.

I nodded, my eyes glinting dangerously, but my other features carefully neutral, "Why do you ask?"

He grinned in what seemed to me an arrogant bastard's grin, "Then let us spar!"

I tilted my head, pulling any and all information about Hyūga Neji that I had been able to gather. He had a father, Hizashi, twin brother of Hiashi, who was killed to protect the secrets of the Byakugan from being stolen. Had been given the Caged Bird Seal and hates Hinata to no end. A spar with him would be full of passion, something which could cloud the mind of a good shinobi. I refused to be blinded with emotions, I should stick with the facts. We took our stances, Gai a little way away, making sure no one accidentally got caught in the crossfires. Everyone else sat by, looking interested. Neji-kun ducked low, firing up the Byakugan and focussing on me. I stood straight and tell, acting as if I was defence less when my bones were forming the layer of bone membrane for Fossil Defence. He charged straight towards me, I twirled, carefully, quickly avoiding it. I activated the Larch Dance and bowed. He came again, his hands glowing blue. I parried attack after attack, ducking, dodging, spinning in an endless dance. I spun around him, using my two radius to part his hands to strike in an attack. Neji growled in frustration as I spun away from him again, "Stand and accept your destiny!" My olive eyes displayed my indifference. I threw away my jacket, and activated the Willow Dance. He growled and tried to attack me. I put my arms out and my hands straight up so it looked like a T, before spinning and deflecting, cutting him in the process. I put my hands straight out as I fired a Digital Shrapnel. Neji immediately spun around, chakra flaring as he did so. My distal bones were shredded on impact. The chakra just tore through them, and at the same time, I felt like acid had been poured into my chakra system. Boiling and burning my fingers, but spreading quickly to the rest of the body. There was so much pain. So much… sadness. I could feel myself starting to shut down at all the hatred, surging through my chakra. I gulped, and nursing my quivering fingers, I eased out my humerus out of its socket, never breaking contact out of his eyes. Then, in one fluid motion, gathering up all the chakra in my feet, I yanked out the bone– leaving a small strip of bone behind to hold it together– , moving several feet in a second, nearly slicing off his head. But Neji was fast too, he spun and deflected, hitting the bones hard and fast, occasionally making the acid in my network worse. I spun and twirled, my dancing graceful and deadly. He wasn't half bad. We were quite well-matched in all honesty and he wasn't showing any signs of quitting. Then, he caught my ulna from the Camellia Dance, which immediately froze as he gripped it and pumped chakra into the damn bone. I froze as the killing intent, the boiling pain surged through my system. I struggled, trying to pull it back, to no avail. Neji-kun had used chakra to keep his grip on my thin sword. The ulna started developing cracks as he tightened his hold. The pain from before increases ten fold. My eyes were wide open as I tried to tug the ulna sword back. The cracks deepened, the pain increased. I gritted my teeth so hard that they would surely crack any second now. Kaguya bones never broke. They were so full of Yang chakra it was impossible to break them. How was he doing this? A gust of wind blew and an arm suddenly swiped the sword from both of us. I looked up to see Kakashi-Sensei's deathly serious gaze as he examined the sword, "I think that's enough. Neji-San" he said coldly. I looked at everyone else coming cautiously towards us before switching my attention to Kakashi-Sensei talking to Gai, "What are you doing here Gai?" He was asking, patiently.

"Well, You See, My Eternal Rival, I Was Hoping For A Joint Training Session Between Our Genin Teams, But You Took So Long To Show Up That They Started Training Most Youthfully Alone!"

Kakashi-Sensei looked carefully back at all of us standing awkwardly, "And when they nearly broke Kimiko's arm, why didn't you stop them?"

Sasuke looked carefully at my arm when he wordlessly handed me my jacket. I scowled and grabbed it from him. He just said, "Hn." And stalked away. TenTen came behind me, "Are you okay? I'm so sorry. Neji-kun can be such an ass sometimes." I didn't respond. My fists clenched and my nails dug into my palm. Neji didn't look at all regretful, "It was your destiny to lose. You should have just accepted it." He said, before getting punched by a green blur.

Lee glared at Neji, Neji glared right back, "NEJI! You Can't Just Debilitatingly Injure A Comrade! Have You Lost Your Senses?!" He screamed.

The two sized each other up and Neji scoffed, "A failure defending a failure. How pathetic." The two took their stances and charged. In a flash, Kakashi-Sensei and Gai were holding the two back.

"We came to an agreement." Sensei said. "Gai will keep an eye on you all, and devise a training regiment. I will take Kimiko-chan to the hospital."

I bit back a growl, "But, Sensei, I don't need the hospital. I'm fine!" He shot me a Look and I flinched, "Can I at least get my radius and ulna back?" I asked irritably. He looked carefully at the cracked and bent sword and I knew the answer was in negative before I heard it. He took me to the hospital and the receptionist paled when she saw me, "Kaguya-San? Are you ill? What are the symptoms? Should I order a mission?"

Sensei eye smiled. "Er… no. This isn't an illness. We need your help with a broken bone."

The woman nearly fainted, "Kaguya-san's bones are the strongest in history! How did she break it? A fifty foot fall couldn't break them!"

Kakashi-Sensei scratched the back of his head, "Funny story. She was fighting a Hyūga, which led to this…" he showed her the broken sword and the woman gave a startled cry, before going to the PA and calling nurses in. Next thing I knew, I was being herded into a room. Startled nurses started buzzing around me, working on patching up the bone and making it heal with iryo-ninjutsu. my thirteenth year promised to be just as shitty as my last twelve.


	10. Information Gathering

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kimiko's information-gathering prowess is shown off, and she quickly gains the attention of one red-headed psychopath.

I watched Naruto and Sasuke battle it out with an onslaught of sewage waste in a bored manner. I had been told to take it easy while my arm bone healed, so that meant I got a free pass , and Sakura had begged and begged Kakashi-Sensei until he let her sit it out. On the exchange that she does the paperwork. Prissy little weakling. My arm was nearly healed, I had been allowed to put the bone back in before I came for my quart-annual physical evaluation. Sasuke finally dragged himself out, sludge completely covering him and smelling absolutely disgusting. He glared at all of us as if it was our fault he was looking like this, "The clog has been cleared. I'm going to hit the showers." He said, walking away.

"Sasuke, where is Naruto?" I asked, bored

Sasuke turned away, "Hn. He's still coming up."

I turned to see that Naruto was indeed dragging himself up out of that gutter. He looked and smelled even worse than Sasuke! I extended my right radius and my right ulna simultaneously to make a giant pair of pincers. I lifted him on to the pavement and looked at him, "This is a really good time to practice a new jutsu I'm learning." I told him as I worked on hand signs. Naruto's eyes bulged and he opened his mouth to argue but I got him first, "Water Style: Water Bomb Jutsu!" With my water bottle as a source it wouldn't have been all that strong, but still, the weak attack that resulted was absolutely pitiful. It barely managed to hose off Naruto!

I must have looked disgruntled, but Sakura's absolutely devastated look immediately cheered me up. I waved at Kakashi-Sensei, gave Sakura a smirk and swung out of the way of her insult. I easily picked up on the steady rhythmic footsteps of Naruto behind me and I fell deep into thought about my personal mission to find the truth about Naruto. There wasn't much I found out in the beginning. Naruto was hated by all civilians and quite a few ninjas, and he had a ridiculously uncanny resemblance to the Yondaime Hokage from my observations. He had chakra reserves several times bigger than anything I had ever seen and heals ridiculously fast. He also has a better sense of smell and hearing than most people, but the dots just weren't connecting. I had investigated into his Uzumaki name as well, tracing it back to the importance of Uzushiogakure and Konohagakure's alliance. Apparently, one of the most recent refugees from Uzushiogakure was the Yondaime Hokage's wife but that also meant nothing. If Naruto was their son, he would be better treated. Trust me, I had seen his apartment and it was not something you'd give to the HOKAGE'S SON. So that was a total dead end. Before I knew it, we were back in my house. Naruto spent quite some time in my apartment now, with Kaito and his posse. They had helped him discover his insane skill at poker and dice games. That was also why he was carrying a giant bag of assorted sweets and chocolates to use as betting chips. He had found out he needed variety in his betting bait, coupons of Ichiraku's Ramen weren't gonna cut it. I really couldn't care less about what exactly those idiots got up to, the only reason I even let the kids into my house was because they made sure I was kept updated about the latest shit that has gone down. I sat down on my bed, caressing the sword made of my left radius and humerus. It was held in position by a metal splint and a heavy cast, slowly healing. I reached deep into my skeletal system, easily connecting with my bones even if they weren't attached to me. I was starting to feel the breaks and fractures in the twisted bone knitting together inside the plaster. I sighed and nodded, leaning back and relaxing my guard just a little. I threw the sword to the dressing table, where it landed perfectly, and stretched out my chakra, searching for my very familiar signature. It was easy, since I couldn't really sense any other type of chakra other than my own and my squads. Sakura's is barely noticeable, like a feather tickling my chakra, her chakra reserves are so small. Sasuke's is… warm, all the time. Burning away in hatred. Naruto's is what I imagine trying to touch a fast rolling wheel is like, it moves so fast, always pulsating, pacing, waiting to be used, his chakra is really hard to miss, there just so damned much of it! I like Sensei's chakra the best, warm and crackling, turbulent yet calm, like a fire in the heart in winter. It always seems to curl up around me, reminding me I'm safe. I never noticed it until I started honing my sensory skills. I think it's ironic, since even sensor types don't know their own chakra and they can identify all threats in a five mile radius. I sharpened the blade like the scroll instructed, using personal experience to manipulate the technique and make it easier. I pictured the line of chakra that anchored the sword to me and tugged it backwards into my hold. The bone jerked slightly and I pulled harder, willing it to break through its plaster cage. The plaster coated sword came towards me at shocking speed and I ducked immediately as it pinned itself to the wall where my head was supposed to be. I released a breath I didn't know I was holding and groaned in disappointment when I noticed that the sword hadn't even broken the plaster cast. Another failure. I had been trying to speed up recovery by attempting to break the cast like this to make sure I wasn't over exerting my limits, but so far it hadn't worked. Seriously, what the fuck did they put in the plaster? Chakra-enhanced iron? Kakashi-Sensei would have me grounded if he ever found out. Yeah, that's right, GROUNDED. He had pulled in a couple favours and gotten his Pack of nin ken to put me on unofficial week long house arrest for doing something so ridiculous as to fight a Hyūga like that. Seriously, the bastard managed to mother hen me yet still seem like the most uncaring son of a bitch out there. He made me so MAD I might just- "Hey, Kiyoko! This is big! Get out here!" Kaito said, interrupting my inner rant. I looked up curiously and immediately channeled chakra into my feet to dash forward beside him in an imperfect shunshin, he yelped and glared at me, "Stop that! I can only take so much stress, you know!"

I rolled my eyes, "Relax, you're not bald yet."

Still grumbling, he followed me outside, where three unknown kids, plus Naruto were looking at this one kid who looked like he had run a marathon. Aoi was handing the kid a mug of tea to calm him down, as he trembled with excitement, "So, what's going on?" I asked as soon as I sat down on the floor in full seiza, even though the others were relaxing on beanbag chairs and the sofa. This one kid had already unrolled a futon and was sprawled over it.

The kid gulped down his tea, "I was delivering these flowers from the Yamanaka store to a customer, when I overheard the clan head, Inoichi, talking about the chunin exams!"

Naruto looked confused, "So? They happen twice every year."

The kid nodded urgently, "Yeah, but this year, this time, it's being hosted in Konoha!"

I smirked, "Now, that is news! Do you think rookies will be allowed?"

The boy nodded, "Near positive. Nothing confirmed though. Apparently, Asuma Sarutobi's planning to nominate the Ino-Shika-Chō formation. Nothing else confirmed, since the jōnin instructors will nominate their teams next week, when the first teams arrive."

I whistled, "That was brilliant news! We might be given a shot!"

Naruto laughed, "We're gonna crush this exam, dattebayo!"

* * *

Kakashi was not an overprotective person. Not in normal situations, war was completely different. He never formed a close bond with anyone, he was too scared, after what happened to everyone else who was precious to him. Gai was an exception because that green-clad eyesore stubbornly ignored Kakashi's none to subtle hints to leave him alone. Then he had saved Kiyoko and he didn't think all that much about it, letting the young, really traumatised and battle-scarred child curl up beside him and cling to him for comfort. Fuck, he would have liked someone to have done that for him when his dad died, or Obito died or when he killed Rin… even if he would have been too proud to ever accept the gesture. He absolutely denied hugging the girl in her sleep when she had a nightmare, no matter what Kurenai or Gai may say. He had delivered her to the Hokage and had absolutely never waited outside the Academy to catch a glimpse of either her or Naruto. He was still so guilty for not taking custody of Naruto, but he had been slowly breaking apart and really wasn't in any condition to take care of a child, especially not one who would remind him of his own failure every time he looked at him. He was such a coward, what would Sensei think of him right now? Then the final blow came, and the Uchiha clan was massacred, by his own subordinate Itachi Uchiha and his guilt nearly ate away at him, all he could think of was how easy it had been for his father, to just leave when things were tough, how easy it could be for him. But he was put on suicide watch and dismissed from ANBU, instead. It kept him alive, long enough for that terrible time to pass, and he failed team after team in peace, nearly forgetting about the young silver haired girl that could shoot bones from her fingers. Key word; nearly. Of course, whenever he caught a particularly barbed comment or saw six elder kids beating up a little blond or silver headed kid, he discreetly took care of it, trying to avoid them yet keep them happy at the same time. So obviously the Hokage decided to fuck up his perfectly unstable coping mechanisms by putting not one, not two, but three of the byproduct a of his most haunting regrets. He really couldn't bear to see them injured, it was true, but Sakura usually avoided confrontation, so she was never in a situation where she was injured badly enough for him to be worried. Sasuke had yet to be hurt that badly too, but it would happen soon, considering how prideful he was and the Chuunin Exams starting soon. Naruto simply healed too fast for him to be worried for long, but Kiyoko was different, she got injured all the time. She spent most of her first two years admitted in the hospital due to her condition. Kakashi vividly remembered the smug genin when they were offered a solo C-rank mission and them returning afterwards, begging to be never given that mission ever again. It was even worse than the Tora mission and even newer jōnin winced in sympathy whenever the mission was assigned to a newly promoted chuunin. So yeah, he definitely didn't want to enter them in the Chūnin Exams. Their teamwork in stressful situations was brilliant, that much was obvious. In terms of raw power, they weren't really outmatched by a large margin… but he really didn't think they would be fine in the Exams. Call it a gut feeling or whatever. There was a week till nominations started, and right now, Kiyoko –Their peacekeeper– was distracted with the thought of Haku-san's interrogation and was suffering from a broken arm, which had no guarantee of healing in three weeks when the Exams were scheduled to start. With the peacekeeper out of the way, they would drive each other crazy. On the other hand, his team had a lot of interesting ninja that many nobles would be interested in. The Last Uchiha would make many flock to the stadium alone, but the promise of a Kaguya —One capable of using the Shikotsumyako, no less– would pack the seats. Any Leaf jōnin planning on taking an off day would definitely be drawn into the crowd if they heard Uzumaki Naruto was up. It was needed by the Leaf's pride for their jinchuriki to attend. There was really nothing he could do, since the only thing keeping him from nominating them was his own overprotective tendencies and Kiyoko's injury, which she might force it into healing faster if she heard there was a promotion on the line and he would die before he admitted he was worried for his team.

* * *

I led Naruto down the winding streets. He looked curious as he followed me, "Ne, where are we going?" He asked

I rolled my eyes, "To gather information about the Exams."

Naruto sighed, "You said that last time! Where are we going to gather information?"

"To a bar." I replied casually

"Oh okay— Wait, WHAT?!" He yelped, catching onto what I just said.

I look at the sky, the reason I wasn't willing to tell him our destination was because I didn't want to hear his reaction, "The Hidden Lotus is the best place to catch up on gossip, so someone's gonna be talking about it. You know how much people love to reminisce about better times with a stiff drink."

Naruto looked uncomfortable, "Yeah, but still… we're not of the age to drink sake yet… Believe it."

I scoffed, "Who said anything about drinking sake? We sneak in, keep a low profile and get some info about nomination date and foreign competition."

He laughed, "You're really sneaky, ya know that?"

I smirked, "Yeah, I've been told a couple times."

We got into the bar no problem, before ducking under a table, scooting around people as they walked past. The conversations were lively and the voices blended together, making them difficult to understand, but gossip was easy to pick up on.

"Hayate-San is still gonna proctor the last round, can you believe that?!"

"Ibiki-San was downright terrifying when I was in the T&I department, I pity those kids."

"Otogakure is gonna be a pushover, it's almost guaranteed!"

"Man, I can't believe it! If I was as constantly sick as he is, I'd retire!"

"I know, right? His own brother caved in his exam, he was just that scary!"

"When are the nominations for the rookie teams again?"

"I heard Suna's not pulling any punches. Aren't the Kazekage's kids entering as a team?"

"Don't be so sure. Just cause they're a small village sending only one team, doesn't mean they're not powerful."

"The youngest, he apparently did a B-rank solo!"

"Yeah, next week, Monday, all the jōnin Senseis will come."

"So? team 7 did an A-rank and came out completely unscathed, even helped the Uchiha unlock his Sharingan!"

I back pedalled, Next week, Monday, jackpot! I poked Naruto and he nodded, showing me he understood. Guess Naruto could be serious isms he wanted to. I tugged his arm towards the door and we made a break for it, just to have our collars lifted by someone rather strong, "What do we have here? A couple green genii playing spy?" A teasing voice said.

I turned my head to see a busty young woman with dark purple hair pulled back in a ponytail that stuck out like a pineapple. She was grinning with a sharp edge to her smile. I met her gaze head-on, "No, we wanted to gather information as to whether or not our jōnin Sensei will nominate us for the Chūnin Exams."

The woman shook her head, "You're to early, kiddo, the meeting is on—"

"Monday, next week." Naruto and I said simultaneously, "We already managed to find that out."

She grinned, "well, if you get an early start, I bet you pick up on some interesting things!"

I nodded, "Don't suppose you'll be able to tell us anything?"

She laughed as she set us on the ground, "No can do, it's funnier seeing you struggle!"

I looked disinterestedly at her, "Sadist."

She grinned all shark like as she rubbed the back of her neck, "Well you're not wrong!" Naruto and I sweat dropped. "See ya later, squirts!" She cackled as she shunshined us to a dark place, dropped us and shunshined away. I groaned as I rubbed my ass from where I landed, Naruto wasn't as lucky, he landed on his head.

He finally pulled himself up, "Where in the name of Kami are we?!" He whisper-shouts, since that is the quietest he was able to be.

My eyes took a while to adjust to the rapid change in light, but I was finally able to take the scenery in. We were outside a huge metal fence, with an old sign on it. "Training grounds forty four." I read out, "Why'd she bring us here?"

Naruto shrugged, "I dunno. Maybe cause it's the biggest training ground in Konoha, dattebayo!"

"That makes no sense." I deadpanned.

"It's also the furthest from the residential areas." He supplied

"That makes more sense." I admitted grudgingly. "But I'll keep this encounter in mind, maybe we'll need it later."

So, we started our trek back to Konoha. A focused Naruto is actually very good company, you'll be surprised to know. "So, what do we do for the next six days?" He asked

I hummed thoughtfully, "Not sure, maybe just pass our time like we always do and forget this ever happened, it'll keep us out of trouble."

Naruto laughed, "Good one!" I smirked in response. It feels good to be respected for a joke.

We spent the next six days compiling everything we can find out about the Chūnin exams. We told Sasuke and Sakura about our tip off as well, but they didn't seem interested in helping me research in the Archives. Sasuke said he would train more and get stronger to beat his opponents and get closer to killing Itachi and Sakura had decided to get stronger to keep up with the boys. Naruto couldn't spend more than an hour in the library without exploding. So, I was alone as I cross-referenced everything. Turns out, the Chūnin exams are split into three portions. The first one is the written exams, which I was worried about for Naruto. The second was supposed to be a survival exercise, and I inferred it was probably held in the Forty Fourth training ground, since it was not only the largest one, but filled with numerous deadly plants and animals. I had looked into it after the crazy lady had dropped us there. The last part was done tournament style, which was impossible to predict. I was currently poring over a scroll listing chūnin promotions over the ages to gauge how powerful i have to be to be promo— oh FUCK, was that Kakashi-Sensei?! he graduated at SIX, What the Actual Everliving FUCK?! yeah, that had been a terrifying revelation.

After that startling revelation, which blew Sasuke's mind, I sped up my training, getting started on my next Dance. The Dance of the Clematis Vine! The technique was done by ripping out the user's spine and using it as a weapon to immobilise the enemy. It was difficult, and terrifying to practice, since I knew messing with my spine and doing it wrong would probably end in my death. Sasuke was subtly worried about me ever since I started practicing for it. It was cute, and you can bet I abused the fuck out of it. I mean, if I have a teammate willing to dance with me for hours on end, why not take absolute advantage of it? Yes, I was dancing for my training. No, it wasn't how you're probably perceiving it. My dances are practiced at home in front of my mirror and sometimes in the training ground with a dance partner. I practiced my routine, improvising in certain portions while Sasuke or whichever poor sap is practicing with me tried to overcome my defences. It was harder to do when I only had one usable arm, so we gave up on it a while ago. But I restarted the training the same week. Kakashi-Sensei shunshined to us, five hours later as usual, looked at us in this frustratingly nice way and said, "You guys can have a day off. I've got work to do." He eye smiles like the bastard he is and disappears again. I gritted my teeth and contained most of my frustration in my clenched fists and twitching eyes. Sakura was less collected. She punched a tree, "That MOTHERFUCKER! We wait five hours for him and then find out its a free day?!"

Everyone gasped, even Sasuke looked stunned and he's one stoic guy. "Y-you swore, Sakura-chan?!" Naruto spluttered.

Sakura's eyes widened, "Um… maybe? It just slipped out! Fossil Freak's a bad influence on me!"

I was about to argue when I saw a rock with eye holes walk up to us, and Naruto immediately noticed it. He toyed with them a little until he snapped and exposed them. With a puff of smoke, Konohamru and two kids jumped from the smoke. I vaguely recognised them as the self-proclaimed Konohamru Trio who had dragged Kaito into playing ninja with him too many times for his own good. "You promised you would play ninja with us!" Konohamru complained.

Naruto looked like he was about to argue, but Sakura scoffed, "A ninja playing ninja, how pathetic!"

I leapt to his defence, "I think it's sweet. He's putting his personal time away to spend time with kids." I thought back to Aoi's many lessons in dissing, "It's called being nice, but you wouldn't have heard of it."

Sakura's face resembled a goldfish greatly and it must have been amusing because Naruto laughed at her even though he's always mooning over her. "So are you gonna play with us too?" Konohamru asked eagerly, "You make awesomely real kunai!"

I patted his head detachedly, "Sorry, I gotta check up on Haku."

They looked downcast for a moment before quickly tagging Naruto and continuing the game. I used the roofs to get to the T&I department, but a spark of worry from the beacon that was Naruto's chakra made me freeze and turn back, to find Konohamru being held by a dark haired boy, with a blond girl looking around worriedly. They must be here for the Chūnin Exams… but why were they attacking Konohamru? I activated the Willow Dance, aiming to look as scary as possible, with horns and fangs and stuff. It worked too, when I jumped down, the boy started so badly, he dropped his bandaged weapon! I looked at the scene; Naruto was giggling as Konohamru ducked behind him and Sakura was chuckling evilly. The Suna-nin looked terrified as I stared at them. What did Kaito say? Oh yeah, bruised prides are worse than bleeding hides. Guess I'm going with that mode of attack, "Oh, I thought there was a powerful foreign ninja attacking you." I deadpanned, pulling my bones back in.

Brown haired bandaged weapon boy looked bemused, before he caught up and frowned, "Hey! Show some respect! The name's Konkorō, and I'm stronger than you'll ever be, Skeleton Girl!"

Blondie's eyes widened frantically, and I looked at the guy smugly, "Original, aren't you? I don't want to reveal everything before the Exams, but I could probably take you…"

The boy growled and reached for his bandaged weapon, before a voice, cold and calculating, spoke up, "You are a disgrace to our village."

The two Suna ninja froze and turned towards a boy with red hair and cold green-blue eyes and the kanji for love over his left eye. He also had no eyebrows, thought it would be cool to mention. He carried a gourd on his back but I had no idea what it might contain. The hitai-ate hanging from his belt proved my suspicions; he was from Suna. "Hey… Gaara!" Konkōro-San said tightly.

"You're disgracing our village by acting in this way. You shall stop immediately. We need to go to our hotel." Gaara-San cut him off. The two cowered before him and followed him away as he walked away. He grinned at me with a gleam in his eyes when he got to where I was, "You are strong, very powerful. Your death will be more meaningful to me than any of the others I have killed." He said.

I brought my bones out in preparation for a fight, but he walked away. Leaving me suitably confused. And a little scared. But not too much, I'm not a pussy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> actually, fun fact, pussy is short for pusillanimous. So this is actually one of the least vile words Kimiko has used.


	11. Chuunin Exams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, Chūnin Exams, baby! Kimiko is still observing Naruto, very very closely, but she's too distracted to connect all the dots.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're finally on the same level as the version on FFN!

I walked into T&I as if it was routine and the ninja at the desk didn't even need me to tell her my intents and purposes to know them. "Haku-San is allowed visitors today." She said.

I blinked in surprise. Haku wasn't allowed visitors, I didn't know why I kept asking to see him. I just know I did. I got over my shock and walked to his cell, which I also knew since the very beginning of his imprisonment. Haku smiled when he saw me, "Kimiko-senpai. I figured you would be busy with the Chūnin Exams and your studies. Were you not nominated by your Sensei?"

I blinked before sitting on a chair. The cell was scantly furnished but for a prisoner, it was pretty damn luxurious. "I wished to see my friend. It's common courtesy. As for the Exams, our Sensei has not informed us as to whether or not he has nominated us yet. What's up with you?" Slang keeps a situation casual, right?

Haku looked a bit unnerved at the question, "What's… up?"

Oh… right, he was just as socially stunted as me when I first came here. I forgot sometimes. "It's an expression," I explained, "What happened? What are you doing? An informal way of asking for a status report."

Haku smiled, "Ah… I feel like I understand. Hokage-sama offered me citizenship to Konoha on the condition that I can pass the same test most Academy students take to become genin and work my way through the ranks as a ninja from Konoha once my interrogation is complete."

I smiled back, "That's good. Are you clear from suspicion?"

"Almost." He admitted, "The Yamanaka wishes to observe me some more before I'm free to go."

Good to know, "Where will you go once this is done?" I asked

Haku looked back at me, "Hokage-sama has allowed me to stay and help out in the orphanage until I have saved enough money from D-ranks to get an apartment."

I narrowed my eyes, remembering the orphanage, "That wouldn't be the best of ideas, Haku. You'll stay with me instead."

Haku looked at me, "I wouldn't want to intrude, Kimiko-senpai."

I leaned back, assessing him, "We have lots of space. Not much silence, but enough space. It will be better."

Haku nodded, "Er… alright then, Senpai."

I nodded and we fell into comfortable silence. Haku nervously fidgeted a lot while I sat and played with a piece of my collar bone. A couple minutes past while I struggled to carefully formed the perfect engravings and shapes I had envisioned, spinning it around to make it absolutely symmetrical, I formed six branches and perfect edges and prongs. Haku looked at me curiously as I worked, until I held out the finished product towards him. He did a double take, looking at my outstretched hand with the perfect snowflake shaped from bone nestled. Razor-sharp edges and perfect symmetrical beauty. Perfection. If you ignored the shaky engravings and little wonky imbedded kanji, that is. "It is very beautiful." He noted serenely, his voice holding just a hint of reverence, "Your skill is even better than when we parted."

"It's for you." I explained when he made no move to take it.

He looked surprised by the question, "Why? I have never favoured shuriken." He asked, "So why are you giving me one so special?"

I sighed and yanked out a couple strands of hair. Shikotsumyako users' always were described with silver-grey hair. That was just a side-effect of a nano-meter thick needle of bone surrounded by keratin that made up every single strand of hair. That made it bendy and breakable when I wanted it to yet hardened into rock when attacked. I braided the few strands of bone-hair together (thank Kami for kunoichi class; poison and knot-tying were the only things I learnt from that place, yet it was required of me so I put up no fuss.) and slipped the bone-flake through it before securing the locket and holding it out. "It is an ornament. A gift I thought you would like, but you may use it as a weapon if you like. Kaito says buying gifts for friends' who've just returned from a journey is common courtesy."

Haku smiled softly and took the necklace. I simply smiled and left.

Aoi was sitting at home when I arrived, scribbling in this little scroll she called her diary. I never understood the point of writing your most intimate thoughts on a piece of paper that might easily be stolen. It might be therapeutic for some, but destroying the remains afterwards should be standard practice. I mean, an infiltrator could use the information in it to perfectly mimic the behaviour of the one they're impersonating. What good would it be knowing how to break out of B-rank genjutsu and escaping tight knots if your enemy knows you inside out?! Anyhow, Aoi was writing in her diary, this little red and blue scroll with the kanji for 'blue' which was fitting. The scroll was sealed by a small seal that looked a lot like a ring of fire with two blue lines arranged to form a cross over the kanji for 'secrets'. She looked up when I came inside and rolled up the scroll. "Hey, Kimiko! Why're you early?"

I rubbed the back of my neck, "Sorry, Aoi, but I went to visit Haku. He will be released from T&I and out on probation in a few days, so I extended an invitation. Will that be alright?"

Aoi grinned back, "why're you asking? I'm not the owner. You are."

I shrugged, "You keep the place running, though."

Aoi's right lip tilted up in an odd imitation of a smirk. "You're right. I'll prep the third room for him."

I couldn't believe it. Naruto was finally putting an EFFORT into the Chūnin Exam nominations mystery! I had shown him the path to becoming a true shinobi! "I'm telling ya, dattebayo! I snuck into the meeting of the nominations! We're gonna go in the Chūnin Exams!"

I was sitting in a formal seiza in front of a fold out table while Naruto lounged on a beanbag chair, Aoi was listening to the entire conversation with rapt attention. Kaito and his cronies had gone back to the orphanage since the Hokage was about to take the annual inspection and the matron had just realised a tenth of the kids just didn't sleep or eat or play in the orphange anymore. ...Yeah, fuck the orphanage. "And you are certain of this?"

Naruto vehemently shook his head, "No way! I know what I heard! Don't you believe me -ttebayo?" True...

I fiddled with my kunai holster as I stared at Naruto, dead-serious, "You realize this information doesn't guarantee anything, right?"

Naruto looked surprised, "W-what do you mean? All that work we did was for nothing?!"

I mentally rifled around for a smile that would seem comforting and consoling, "Not nothing. We got a head start in preparation and have a vague idea as to what the exams will be testing. That means something. We have an edge over a lot of the other teams, so don't overthink."

Naruto grinned eagerly, "You're right! We're gonna crush this! Dattebayo!"

The next day, Sasuke, Naruto and I were equally tense. Sakura-chan didn't notice our moods at all, trying to flirt with Sasuke as his mood became darker and darker. Naruto tapped his fingers on the bridge's fence, which was becoming kind of annoying as well. Sasuke finally sighed, "Calm down, dobe. We make a kick-ass team, way better than Team 8 or 10, so if they got nominated, we definitely will."

Naruto paused, looking suspiciously at Sasuke, "What are you saying, Sasuke-teme?"

Sasuke's eyebrows seemed to scrunch up and from what I remembered of human body language, that meant he was annoyed, but he plowed on anyways when I eyed him, "I'm saying that you may seem like just a dumb loser, but even then, with your Shadow Clones and ridiculous chakra reserves, you can be tough to fight. Just leave the strategy to me and Kimiko and we'll do fine."

Naruto blinked, trying to proccess his words before scowling. I extended my proximal phalanges to nearly two feet, then my intermediate phalanges by one foot and my distal phalanges by half a foot and grabbed his shoulder before he could go jump Sasuke, "You shouldn't bother with Sasuke's word choice. He's trying to convince himself that you're not more powerful than him. It's an ego thing."

Naruto snorted, "Seriously?! How can you read him so well?"

Sasuke glared at Naruto, "We've been training together since forever. She's _my_ best friend." Did he put emphasis on the my, or was it just me? Why's he so angry?

Sakura was just watching the exchange with bewildered eyes. I just sighed. Suddenly, Kakashi-sensei was standing on a post, "Hello, everyone!"

Sakura turned towards him, "You're LATE!" And it was like a flip was switched, Naruto's eyes gleamed, Sasuke was biting his lip and my hands started itching towards my thigh holster.

He scanned us intently and eye-smiled as he dropped down, "You guys are in for a surprise. I..."

"NOMINATED US FOR THE CHŪNIN EXAMS!" Naruto finally screamed out.

Kakashi-sensei raised an eyebrow, "How did you learn that?" he sounded genuinely interested.

Naruto rubbed the back of his neck, "Well, Kimiko-chan and I spent our entire free time last week trying to find out everything we could about the chūnin Exams! We practically know everything about the exams now! And I was dying to know the results, so I snuck into the meeting to find out!"

Kakashi's eyes nearly bulged out of his head, and he nailed me with a suspicious look, and I raised my hands to demonstrate I was unarmed (I still don't understand why people use this gesture in everyday life surrounded by comrades) "I was planning to snoop around after the meeting, but he was curious enough to sneak in. I was never there."

He just sighed and pulled out four forms, "Well, you're right. You guys were nominated."

Our mouths dropped open. Then, Naruto broke into a smile, "Woo-hoo! We did it guys, Dattebayo!" Sasuke smirked and grunted, while Sakura gasped happily and tried to hug Sasuke, but he quickly dodged her. I didn't react outwardly, Shinobi Rule 21: Shinobi must never reveal their weaknesses had been beaten into me. Literally. I have to physically push myself to show any reactions outside of my eyes.

Kakashi-sensei just sighed, "Alright then, you guys have the rest of the day off, to figure out whether or not you want to participate or just start training in preparation." We saluted and walked away. I went straight to my apartment, where Aoi was finishing up cleaning out Haku's future room. It was actually terrifying how fast she got stuff clean with out water jutsu. I mean, no one should be that good of a cleaner without knowing some type of special jutsu! I know for a fact that Sasuke usually doesn't bother with most menial chores like cleaning floors since he had other people to do it, but the few times he had a cleaning day, he usually bribed me with narutomaki and barbecue to use a light Water style jutsu to wash the floors. She just smiled at my dumbstruck expression and walked away with the grocery bag. I grabbed my books on the human skeleton and jumped out of the window. I was kind of lost in my priorities; first, I really needed to get stronger to be in the Chūnin Exams, but I really wanted to focus on my investigation into what was wrong with Naruto. This had more to do with just my personal interests. I hated how sometimes he acted just too obliviously to not be aware of how wrongly he's being treated, how he was nearly a third of what he should weigh, how a few random remarks would suddenly make him freeze up and his mask slip... I just _hated_ it. I found myself on the Fourth Hokage's head, practicing shifting each bone in my body and running through the katas of my preferred style. When I finally stopped to take a breather and unfolded my parcel of onigiri and took out my book, I heard someone approaching me. I didn't make my appearance known, just adjusted my position and prepared in case of assault.

There was a pause and then Kaito's voice reached my ears, "Maa, Kimiko, what're ya doing here?" he asked.

I just sighed forlornly, "Training. You?"

He laid down beside me, "Escaping the matron. She's realized that she can't handle me, so she's been trying to get people to adopt me."

"Why's she trying so hard to get someone to adopt you? She dropped the rest of us on the streets before we even graduated." I commented casually

He stiffened beside me, "Just some bad memories."

I racked my brains, Kaito may be one of my best friends, but we respect each other's boundaries. I never pushed him for answers on the days he became gloomy and he never brought up anything from my past. I knew his surname was WORK but he had specifically asked me never to look into it, so I didn't. No matter how curious I was. But… talking was good, right? He had told me that in one of our impromptu therapy sessions. He had just seemed to get it, the things I was going through. It was like he understood. I had to help him too, "Wanna talk about it?" I said.

He ran his fingers through his orange, "I used to love the idea of being a shinobi, before, trained my butt off to graduate and become a ninja. It was expected of me to be one, considering I was the heir. But…"

I surveyed him blandly, "I'm guessing an attack? Something to do with senbon? Your parents and guards were killed. Leaving you traumatised."

He did a literal double take, "How'd you know?"

I leaned back, "It was obvious, after knowing you so long. I understand you better now that I'm part of a squad. Naruto acts happy too, to hide his pain. Guess you're doing the same. So why're you telling me?"

Kaito shrugged, "We've known each other for four years. Had to tell you sometime. I mean, you might die in the next few weeks."

I looked at him and tilted my mouth up in a well-practiced smirk, "You should have more faith in me. I'm not gonna die so easily."

Kaito laughed grimly, "Yeah, well, you can never be certain."

I leaned back into the rock, "there's something special that you have, isn't there?" I ignored Kaito's breathing hitch, "Something that will make you a good ninja. Your matron is trying to get a ninja family to adopt you and possibly pressurise you into going into the Academy and facing your fear.

His chocolate eyes grew so large they almost swallowed his face as he looked incredulously at me, "H-how'd ya know?"

I shrugged, "Strategy?"

He just sighed, and smiled at me in a way I couldn't recognise, "By the way, do you think you could help me down?" I nodded and wrapped my arm around his shoulders and started wall-walking down with chakra. Kaito's pulse sky-rocketed as we were on vertical ground, "WHAT ON EARTH?! ARE YA CRAZY!?"

I winced but otherwise didn't react, hanging out with Naruto does that to a person. "It's like when I taught you how to fluctuate you chakra to dispel genjutsu. Except now, you'll be focussing the chakra to your feet. I won't let go but you should at least try a little in case my grip slips…" I suggested simply. The effect was instantaneous, Kaito immediately stopped moving and started focussing his chakra onto the rock face. It wasn't enough to keep him upright without me but it was good enough since he didn't need to learn right away considering he was a civilian. Kaito released a breath and collapsed on the ground. He'd understand later how I was trying to help him. I gathered my books and bones and helped him to the orphanage before heading back home. I was still in the forest when I was accosted by this ninja I had never seen before. He had on a rogue ninja headband and was wielding a fūma shuriken. I was accustomed to high levels of KI to such a degree that I almost missed the killing intent the threat was throwing off. I immediately threw all my bones forward, immobilising all his limbs by stabbing them and systematically binding the enemy nin down. I looked down at him threateningly, "You're a threat to Konohagakure no Sato. Since you've managed to infiltrate our borders I refuse to take you lightly. As stated by the Security Breach Protocol; you're coming to T&I with me." I wrapped my hand around a loop of bone made only for this reason. The enemy nin trembled for a couple seconds while I dragged him along before popping and expelling a large amount of smoke. I covered my mouth and nose and narrowed my eyes to slits. Once it cleared, Iruka-Sensei stood infront of me; bound in bones. I pulled out a kunai in one hand and extended the distal phalanges of the other to act like claws. The Iruka-Sensei lookalike quickly raised his hands, "Kimiko-chan! Don't hit me! It was a test! Calm down!"

I didn't relax my guard. Instead, I consulted the instructions for the protocol to be followed in case of suspected stolen identity. Ask a question only the original would know, he was close to Naruto, right? So… "What type of ramen does Naruto like best?"

The answer came without hesitation, "Ichiraku Teuchi's Miso pork ramen."

I wasn't aware of the restaurant owner's given name but the rest was legitimate. I let Iruka-Sensei go, bowed slightly, "I hope I passed." And continued on my way. Leaving behind a very bewildered Iruka-sensei.

The next day found me inside the academy; third floor with my team beside me. Sasuke nodded at me in encouragement and I offered a small smile to all three of them. Naruto was grinning like a fool, and Sakura was her usual timid self. I took a deep breath and entered the classroom where the first exam would take place. As soon as we came in, Sasuke was lunged at by a yapping blonde that could only be Ino. Sasuke glared balefully at her then gave me a look that I had come to recognise as his way of asking for reinforcements. I just sighed and did the trick with extended each phalange by scale to form giant skeletal hands a la Edward Scissorhands (even though I have no idea who he is) and gently eased Ino away. She let out an ear splitting shriek when she saw them and just hung onto Sasuke tighter, "Back off, Fossil Freak! He's mine!" She yelled. I just sweat dropped and moved onto the other newcomers. Shikamaru and Chōji sauntered over to us, "So, you're here too? What a drag!" Shikamaru complained. "At least tell me you're willing to clue us in as to what this exam is about?"

A hyperactive voice sliced in, "Nani?! You guys know what's in this exam?" I turned to see Inuzuka Kiba looking incredulously at Naruto, his nin ken, Akamaru, on his head.

Naruto crossed his arms smugly, "Uh huh! It was easy, Kimiko, can I tell him what we found?"

I thought about it. On one hand, the more inclusive information like this was, the more chances there were of all the participants becoming aware. On the other hand, sharing information would put us in favour of other squads we were familiar with. I weighed out the pros and cons and exchanged glances with Sasuke, who nodded subtly while trying to nicely tell Ino to fuck off. So, I nodded at Naruto too, who grinned at Kiba, "Apparently, it's a written exam. The proctor's Morino Ibiki, head of T&I and tokubetsu jōnin in mental torture, so Kimiko thinks there might be some mind games involved. We asked the people from previous exams and they said that he's always got a different type of exam, but the two components that remain the same are the information gathering factors and the loyalty test."

By the end, the other four rookies, sans Ino and Hinata (Ino refused to separate with Sasuke-kun and Hinata-chan became ridiculously flustered around Naruto) were leaning forward. Shino finally hummed, "It's surprising how much you're willing to divulge such information. Why? Because information is an invaluable resource. By sharing this resource, you're losing the upper hand you had on the other teams."

I chose that moment to interfere, "We're the only nine rookies here, so we really should stick together. Besides, this isn't for free, the second phase will be survival, possibly in Training Grounds 44, so if we help you pass this round; I'm counting on you to lend us support down the line."

"So you have ulterior motives, huh?" Shikamaru drawled, "What a drag. But it's true having to figure this stuff out on our own would be too troublesome, so I guess we'll help."

"Anything to help Sasuke-kun!" Ino chimed in.

Chōji grinned, "We really appreciate the tipoff. You guys can count on us!"

Team 8 talked amongst themselves before deciding, "We don't really need help in strategising. We can handle ourselves. Why? Because our squad specialises in subtlety and information gathering." Shino said.

"B-but we'll d-definitely help you if we f-find you, N-Naruto-kun!" Hinata squeaked.

Kiba grinned, "Yeah, you'll probably not even last a second out there without us!" He teased, very not kindly.

Naruto growled and pointed his finger at Kiba, "Just you wait! I'm loads stronger than you'll ever be! I'm Uzumaki Naruto and I'm gonna be Hokage! Dattebayo!

The only problem was that that shriek was a bit too loud for my taste, and it echoed through the hall, causing everyone to scowl at us. A squad sauntered over to us with headbands with a music note on them. I took a wild guess that they were from Otogakure, a new Village. The ninja who seemed to have been appointed leader of the group smirked at us, "Hey, you know, you're pretty cocky, aren't you? I'm Dosu from Oto" bullseye, "And none of you pathetic worms will last a second in the Exams."

Obvious Scare tactic. But why is it being done by a participant? Shouldn't the proctor or invigilator do that, or was he planted to lower the morale of participants? Sasuke took quick offence at that, "The weakest are always the loudest. You should work on your threats a little more. I bet your bite really wouldn't be as good as your bark and it's pretty pathetic as it is."

There was stunned silence, mainly because Sasuke had never said so much in one sitting. Dosu-San gritted his teeth and pulled back his fist. Before he could strike, however, a pale hand grabbed Dosu's little wrist box device and pushed him back. "Fighting really isn't allowed. Last time a free for all broke out the proctor disqualified everyone. So I would suggest otherwise." He turned towards us and I felt my blood run cold. Silver hair, circular glasses, that slippery accent. There was no mistaking it. It was one medic who was skilled enough to experiment on my body in such a way that he didn't leave behind any trace that Kimimaro would be able to detect. It was Yakushi Kabuto.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kabuto. Man, I HATE him. Is it just me or was his story continuously changing during the first few seasons he appeared in?   
> Like, he's a stand-up guy with lots of information. Wait, no he's not! He's been newly recruited into Orochimaru's organisation! Actually.... he's a very loyal subordinate. But in reality.... he' a spy for Sasori. OR IS HE?!   
> So infuriating...  
> /rant


	12. Shit goes wrong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously: Kimiko gives the First Exam. She ropes the whole Rookie Nine into helping them. Then proceeds to give Ibiki a message about Kabuto. The plan for the Second Exam was to collect all scrolls, then dump them in a specific cave, guard it with the seals Aoi uses to guard her cupboards (which Naruto stole and worked out how to use) and move on. Only the Rookie Nine could reopen it, but then...  
> Orochimaru butts in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I lost another chapter. I know you're thinking... that's so irresponsible! Two chapters uptil now, gone?! But I can't help it!!

I leapt away from the blast, stretching out my bones and grabbing whoever was close to me. When the smoke cleared, I found Sasuke holding me tight, shaking me. I looked up at him, with a raised eyebrow and he immediately dropped me. We looked around, and found Sakura coughing violently as she ran up to us. I held up a hand, "What are we?"

She nodded, "A bone as hard as fire is hot, a night as cold as a kunai is sharp, an ocean encased in a glass, that is what we are.."

I put down my hand, "Have you seen Naruto?"

She was shaking her head when I heard Naruto yell out, "Hey, guys! I'm right here!"

I looked at his approaching figure, every scratch impeccable, exactly how Naruto would look like about now. His blond hair was sticking up in the exact same angle it always does when a paper bomb explodes in his face. It was an exact copy, a perfect replica. Too perfect. I stared at him, "What are we?" I asked.

He grinned, "That's easy! A bone as hard as fire is hot, a night as cold as a kunai is sharp, an ocean encased in a glass, that is what we are."

The other two relaxed, but I didn't. There was something off, like the hint of Orochimaru's chakra I had felt. I didn't like this. One last test. I wasn't gonna fall for an incredible actor. I had spent way too much time with Naruto and studying his body language to fall for this joker. But what was it?! I just sighed and let my obvious guard down, instead getting ready to pounce as soon as he was in sensing range. He just shot me a side eye and moved forward. Into range and my eyes widened as I registered his chakra. Not Naruto! I enhanced my feet with chakra and appeared right behind the imposter, Camelia sword out in one fluid motion. Sakura screamed as the imposter rotated, kicking the sword out of the way. The Henge dissolved, revealing the Kusa-nin from before. The one who gave me the heebie jeebies. She smirked at me, "You recognize me, don't you?"

I frowned at her. Or him. I don't know, I felt Orochimaru's chakra coming off of her in large amounts and it had been pumped into my bones enough for me to recognize it immediately. I held up middle finger to her as I activated all my bones. She grinned sadistically as she pulled an Earth Scroll out, "I bet you'd love to get your hands on our earth scroll. It would go well with your Heaven scroll." then that fucking creeper SWALLOWED the scroll. I looked at Sasuke, and he already had his Sharingan activated and body tensed up. The woman creepily smiled, "When this is over, you'll be more worried for your life than a stupid scroll." Then she pulled down her eyelid. The weight of the Killing Intent that she released with that tiny action sent me reeling. I gritted my teeth as I was forced to step back just a little. I fought a GODDAMN war when I was six! I had survived against the odds! I REFUSED TO BE INTIMIDATED! I shook myself out of my funk and grabbed Sasuke, channeling my chakra around him the same way Aniki used to do when I was first subjected to Orochimaru's KI. His breathing slowly relaxed as he stared at me."Killing Intent." I explained, "Get Sakura out of here. Get as far as you can. Alert someone."

He gulped and shook his head as his knees gave out, "I-I'm n-not leaving y-you. Y-You'll DIE!" then, the KI intensified and he buckled, throwing up everything in his stomach.

I just shrugged and took my stance, building up my chakra in my feet. I wasn't going down like this. My squad wasn't gonna suffer for my shortcomings. The next things all happened simultaneously. TheOrochimaru chakra mimicker struck forward and I released all the chakra I had gathered, grabbing Sakura and Sasuke and putting nearly fifty metres between us and the freaky woman. Sasuke took a long rattling breath when I put them down and Sakura started breathing deeply, calming herself. I nodded to both of them, gesturing for them to stay quiet. I started signing in code like I had taught Sasuke and which I hoped Sakura had got the hang of. "You. Escape. I. Divert Attention. Get...Blonde." I ordered, knowing they would connect Naruto with his hair. Sasuke shook his head vehemently, whole body still shaking, eyes never loosing that haunted look. "Never. Abandon. Comrades." he signed back and I gritted my teeth. I turned to look around the trunk of the tree we were on to see where the woman was now, and picked up on the sound of scales gliding over rough surfaces immediately. I bit back a shudder, remembering the snake summons Orochimaru used to set on me for fun. I looked at Sasuke, and muttered lowly, "Forgive me." he looked like he was about to inquire as to what, but I had already moved, extending the distal phalange of my index finger, tracing a thin line into his arm. He hissed at the pain, but as I cloaked my chakra around the two, their muscles slowly relaxed. "Let's get out of here." I hissed, "There's a giant snake heading-"

I was cut off by a cold slimy thing right next to my ear. As I felt a chilly breath on my ear, my pupils dilated and the voice of that cool sadistic woman echoed in my ear, "Too late, my dear." her Killing Intent threatening to choke me. Sasuke jolted backwards, kunai in hand, and I froze, quickly assessing the situation. I had been taken hostage. This was bad. This was really bad. I tried to check if there were any weapons touching me but I couldn't tell with my head unable to move without alerting the woman. I needed to do something! THis WaS AwfUL! I was panicking. This was bad. I was barely staying calm, but it had to be done. I looked at everyone else, Sakura-chan staring at the woman in horror, Sasuke looking at me with an obvious message. Don't. Die. Don't. Fucking. Plan. On. it. I perked my ears, calming my nerves. I was on a mission. This was the battlefield. It was kill or be killed and I'm about to go on a fucking killing spree. In that moment, instinct kicked in. The same wild animalistic instinct that had helped me land kill shot after kill shot on grown soldiers in the dead of night in a mist-ridden battlefield when I was six. My scapulas unhinged themselves and sharpened to fine points, while simultaneously, my entire vertebral column shifted by ninety degrees and the little stick-outy bones stuck out of my body, stabbing my captor a hundred times over. As I turned around to survey the damage, the body melted into mud and I cursed. Substition. Goddamn whoever made that fucking jutsu. But I didn't have time to lament. The huge snake that was after us slammed in front of me, but Sasuke was sheilding me from it. I tensed, activating the Camelia Dance as we tag teamed the snake. Sasuke threw a handfult of shuriken in a blind panic and I calmly threw smoke bombs and paper bombs, aiming for the snake's eyes and mouth. The snake landed on a branch and Sasuke immediately let out a sigh of relief. This shouldn't be this easy. Slowly a bulge appeared above the monster and my throat constricted as the woman rose up from the slimy depths of the snake's gullet. "The prey must never let their guard down around its predator." she drawled sadistically. And she struck. I reviewed my options, my brain racing. Escape is futile, attempting to dodge is futile. Fighting back; futile. Only one option, power through it. I turned and hugged Sasuke as close to me as possible, wrapping my bones around both of us to form a protective membrane. My normal non-vital bone reserves were used up. My easily built bone reserves were half empty. My hair-bone reserves were out of the question seeing as the scroll was inside it. Only option left was either ninjutsu or using my chakra reserves to make bones, and that took at least a minute that I didn't have. I couldn't fight back if she hit us. It was either fight or protect, and I chose the latter. I watched in trepidation as the woman got closer and closer... until she was cut off by a few kunai and shuriken. I immediately whipped my head up to the thrower. And sighed in relief as I saw familiar sunshine blonde hair and cerulean blue eyes. Naruto Uzumaki had entered the scene! Sasuke was the first to react, "NARUTO! GET OUT OF HERE! WHAT'RE YOU THINKING?! YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE UP AGAINST!" his voice took up a desperate tone, "Hurry...go now! BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!"

I frowned at him, willing him to shut up while the woman hummed, "So... Naruto, you managed to escape my friend." Friend, what friend? She had accomplices? Teammates?

It seemed to ring a bell for Naruto, though, because he looked understanding for a moment before shouting out, "Okay, okay, I don't know what's going on here. But I do know that you're picking on my friends and I don't like it. So, you better slither back into your hole snake lady, before I make a pair of shoes outta ya!" I smirked. He knew how to throw around self-confidence like nobody's business. Sasukegritted his teeth as I slid my bones off of him and my reserves were refilled.

Sasuke grabbed my arm, "Give it to him. Give him the scroll."

I glared at him, "No. She has the same chakra as Orochimaru. He's an S-ranked missing-nin, I'm guessing this woman is actually him under a disguise. The scroll will do nothing."

He recoiled, his pupils shaking, "O-orochimaru?! The guy who h-held you c-captive, f-for..."

I looked stonily at the woman, "Two years. Yes. That's the one. And I've seen him do this before so I wouldn't be surprised to see it again."

The woman grinned sadistically, "So glad you remember me, darling. Your brother misses you terribly."

I fought down a shiver as Sakura gulped, "What're you talking about? Why are you after us?"

"He's after me. Isn't that right?" I said, quickly forming a hypothesis. I was the only one who had any connection to him.

The woman grinned ominously, "Aren't you the clever one?" she crooned evilly.

I looked at him/her straight in the eyes, then shoved Sasuke back. He stared at me, completely confused, before understanding sunk in, along with horror. He was about to protest but it was too late. I raised my hands, "Let my friends go and I'll go with you. They don't mean anything to you, so let. Them. Go."

He/she grinned, but Naruto yelled out in anger, "Have you lost it, Kimiko?! We can hold our own against him!"

I shot him a glance, my voice bland, set with determination, "No, you can't. Accept it. You still need to become Hokage. Sasuke still needs to kill his brother. Your dreams haven't become reality yet, but this... has always my dream. Finding Orochimaru. Getting my brother out of his twisted coils. Now I've found him, and it doesn't matter if I die."

Sasuke looked panicked, "N-no, please. Th-there's gotta b-be another w-way!"

I shook my head, and then pulled at the scroll hidden under my hair. Adrenaline was pumping through my veins, and everything was clear. I had never done this trick before, but it felt like I had spent my entire life training for this feat. All of 100,000 the razor-thin streaks of bone in my hair slowly extracted themselves out of the hair stalks, wrapping around the scroll, its absence turning my long silvery hair into their natural black. I never took my eyes off of Orochimaru as I grabbed Sasuke's hand and wrapped the mass of bone around it, having it latch onto it like a leech. I took a breath and walked towards the woman, "You guys get out of here. Call someo-" I was cut off as I was knocked off the branch by an orange cannonball. I groaned as I landed on another branch, arms pinned to the side by a pair of strong arms.

"SHUT. UP." Naruto growled, "Nobody's gonna die, and that's a promise!"

I looked straight past him, where the woman was wiping some blood on a seal on her wrist, "Then you better have a plan. Cause I think she's pulling out all the stops."

Naruto turned around, "What?!" but it was too late. A gust of wind ripped through the area, felling trees. I grabbed Sakura with a fireman's carry and grabbed Sasuke by the scruff of his neck, dragging him away from the range of the snake that poofed into existence.

"NARUTO, WE NEED TO RETREAT." I decided, as I dropped the shaking pinkette.

Orochimaru grinned, "Food can't just uninvite itself. It's bad manners." The tail of that hideously large snake swiped up, throwing Naruto up so hard, he smashed through a couple branches before coming back down, coughing violently from the attack

I bit my lip as he rushed down, "Enough playing. Finish him." Orochimaru ordered.

I growled and threw my jacket at Sasuke before extending my bones, to do what, I wasn't quite certain. Sasuke and Sakura were still shaken from the KI that had been released and they had apparently realised the hopelessness of our situation. I gulped as Naruto plummeted down, getting closer and closer to the snake summons open maw. I couldn't do anything! I was supposed to be stronger than these three yet I felt like I was the most useless. Then, in front of my wide eyes, Naruto CHANGED. His scars deepened, his eyes changing to red and wave after wave of wild bestial chakra slammed into me. He flipped and delivered a punch to the snake summons. If was so forceful the snake RECOILED. Naruto didn't seem fazed. He just continued his endless assault, forcing the snake to back off. Was this his secret? Fuck, this was bigger than I had thought. The snake switched targets as Orochimaru inspected him with a contemplative air. I was so distracted by Naruto's newfound powers I missed the snake coming towards us. When I finally switched back, it was nearly too late to dodge. I jumped in front of Sasuke, who seemed to be the main target, and pushed him out of the way, "Get out. We can handle this. Get backup." I commanded.

Sasuke shook his head ferociously, "You're m-my only friend! I-I refuse to a-abandon you!"

Sasuke was panicking. There, he said it. He was scared off how powerful he was, how dangerous of an opponent. He couldn't believe Kimiko kept having to jump in front of him, saving him, facing someone who had tortured her for YEARS, all for him. It wasn't fair. She was smaller than him. He had promised himself that he would never let someone get close to him, because they always ended up LEAVING. Now, he was reduced to being a helpless kitten as his younger training partner prepared to face death. The bones from her hair had a vice-like grip on his arm, shackling him with the scroll. He had barely ever seen her use the bones in her hair for anything other than making sure her hair didn't knot or get caught on trees and stuff. Without the bones, her black hair hung down flat and lifeless, as soft and lifeless as Sakura's useless fronds. He hated seeing her like this. He knew they were helpless, but he wanted a solution where Kimiko didn't die. He needed her in his life, her complete inability to understand social cues and norms had grown on him. He had always looked up at her, admiring her for how she dealt with her issues. She was an example as to how kekkei genkai users were hated and how lucky he was to be born in Konoha where the discrimination didn't get all that bad. When he had found out she was nine when he was ten, he nearly impaled himself on her femur (Long story). She had acted much more mature, robotic back then. The perfect shinobi. She hadn't lost that hard edge yet. The drive and instinct to kill and protect. Even her social incompetence hadn't waned. She just became better at pretending she wasn't always pinpointing all the kill points on every new person she met and figuring how they would attack. But, by all rights and purposes, she was still younger and he was the one supposed to be taking care of her, his mother had always taught him to be nice to girls, especially those younger than him. So, he helped her at the things she couldn't stab and intimidate her way to completion. He scared away her bullies for her, never putting much effort (he didn't want her to think he cared about her _that_ way.) just a scowl or a well-aimed blunt kunai to keep them away and taking her with him to get groceries since everyone thought her weird hair unnatural and her thoughtless flaunting of her kekkei genkai unnerving.

But now, she needed his help in something important, and GODDAMNED NARUTO was better help than he was! Sasuke tried to steady his trembling and unclench his muscles. Too late, he realised, the snake was barreling towards him, he could only bend his knees and brace for impact. But it never came. He opened his eyes cautiously and then gaped as he met scarlet eyes with slit pupils. Naruto, with claws for hands and feet and fangs all surrounded by a thin veil of fiery red chakra, holding back a snake possibly a thousand times bigger and heavier than him. "What's wrong? You hurt, crybaby?" Kami, even his voice was low and gravelly, as though a yōkai had possessed him. Was he…taunting him? Why? His thoughts were racing yet at the same time sluggish and it took time for him to remember, this was what he said to Naruto when he froze up in front of the demon brothers, letting Kimiko and him sort it out. How ironic, he was repeating the same words back to him, in front of a much stronger enemy. He couldn't bring himself to form words, he felt like he would collapse any minute from the stress alone. This was really, really bad. Then Naruto smirked at him, an action that looked really odd with his fangs, and turned around, sucker punching the snake on the nose, forcing it to dispel. Orochimaru hummed, "Interesting. So, you're it, huh?"

Naruto narrowed his eyes, "Whaddya mean, you're it?! Whatcha want from me?"

Orochimaru smiled creepily, "Nothing. Nothing at all." And he struck.

Kimiko took that moment to stand up, ready to fight. Sasuke felt a shiver go down his spine at her murderous expression. She activated her Willow Dance and ran into his blind spot. Orochimaru smirked snidely and opened his mouth. Sasuke watched with growing horror, as a snake came out of his mouth, oh that was disgusting, and regurgitated two swords. Kimiko fell into her standard style, spinning around in a pirouette, as her bones weave around looking for chinks in the defence of the opponent. Orochimaru quickly deflected each blow effortlessly, causing her to shift instead to a quick waltz-like rhythm that he remembered practicing with her. It was designed to copy the opponents jabs and thrusts, having them move around in a slow, terrifying dance, waiting apprehensively for the other to make a misstep. Orochimaru swung low, so she swung high, he feinted to the right so she feinted left, then intercepted his swords by crossing her arms. But it was obvious he was just toying with her. Painfully so. As she swung and spun, dodging and blocking, he seemed to quickly grow irritated by her attempts. Naruto immediately jumped into the fray and his attention immediately refocused on him. Sasuke couldn't stop shaking. He had to get out of here. He was in over his head in this fight where deadly taijutsu was being displayed like it was nothing and huge amounts of destructive chakra completely saturated the air. Kami, he didn't know what was going on and he didn't like it. The need to run away was at the forefront of his mind. He had to get away, as fast as he could. But logic battled his instincts, telling him to stay, help protect his teammates, no matter how futile it may seem. He tried to focus on the fight instead, his heart constricting when Naruto was flung across the forest, leaving a crater as he skidded along. His jacket had fallen open and the black shirt under it nearly shredded to pieces, eroded by that awful red chakra. There was something on his stomach, a tattoo or something. He couldn't quite see it properly but it couldn't be all that important, right? Kimiko quickly vaulted towards him. "You okay, Naruto?" She asked, tonelessly. Naruto just growled his agreement, before launching himself at Orochimaru again. Kimiko sweat dropped for a millisecond before joining him as well. But Orochimaru seemed to be done playing. He was firing an attack Sasuke had never seen before, this couldn't be good. He needed to WARN THeM! "GUYS WATCH-" too late, Naruto hit the attack head on. No! Naruto! Pleasepleaseplease let him be okay. He needed him on the team! This was awful! Naruto fell like a sack of potatoes and Kimiko gave a worried grunt as Orochimaru yelled out, "Striking Shadow Snakes!" His entire arm exploded into snakes which caught her in death grip. He sweated, oh god, WHAT SHOULD HE DO? NARUTO WAS FREEFALLING, he wouldn't get there in time. Kimiko was captured, THIS WAS REALLY BAD! He couldn't do ANYTHING without them. It was the truth. He needed them, but now they needed him and if he COULD. JUST. THINK. CLEARLY. He could save them. Then, he reacted, throwing a kunai perfectly so it caught on Naruto's jacket and let dangle on the tree, unconscious. He was finally getting serious, it was TIME TO SNAP OUT OF THUS! He looked at OROCHIMARU, with his eyes shadows, "Listen, Bastard, LET. HER. GO."

The woman preened, "And if I don't?"

Sasuke pulled out his shuriken, "You die."

The next few moments were an adrenaline and rage-furled blur. The only thing He remembered was throwing kunai around and torching her with the dragon flame jutsu after giving Kimiko a split-second warning to set up her Suiton: Aqua Armour. He made his way over to the corpse, finding Kimiko curled up in the feotal position, her bones and her Aqua Armour slowly waning away. But where was Orochimaru? He turned to find him, and was shocked to his core when he looked at the peeling face of a woman come off of his victims. His heart jumped to his throat and he fought his urge to RUN, GET THE HELL OUTTA HERE, as a pale skinned, golden eyed man shed the skin of the woman. He smiled snidely at him, and Sasuke felt himself edge backwards, moving away but unwilling to take his eyes off of the enemy. He could see Kimiko start to stir on the edge of his peripheral vision. He just needed to distract the pedophile for a little while and she could get away. He felt the bump of a wall of rough bark directly behind him and he growled in fear, this couldn't be happening, he was trapped, OROChImaRU was right here and HE was trapped! HE WAS GONNA DIE! Then, the neck of his pursuer elongated quickly, reaching forward. He glance at Kimiko, who was quickly recomposing herself, staring at the scene before her. Then rUNNING towards them. WAS SHE CRAZY?! HE WAS AFTER HER. SHENEEDEd to GET AWAY! The head of OROChIMARU struck forward, his mouth aiming for SASUKE'S NECK and all Sasuke could really do was close his neck and get ready for the two needle pinpricks. Instead, he felt a warm pressure around his neck which felt a lot like… fingers? And only one pinprick of fang. What had happened? Fighting the sudden exhaustion and lethargy that crashed over him, he forced his eyes open. Kimiko had her hands wrapped around his neck, trying to protect him from the bite, but one fang still got in. Orochimaru hummed, "Oh, well, THIS is INTERESTING." He rubbed Kimiko's jaw slowly, her eyes still wide open and she'll-shocked as she trembled, "I needed you as a donor to fix your brother, but now… you've been contaminated. I'll suppose I'll wait and see how things turn out. ANBU is coming anyways, goodbye, PREY!" He laughed again as he waved and dissolved into a hundred white snakes.

"I-it can't be." Sakura stammered, "That was a clone all along? Or some kind of Substitution?"

Sasuke couldn't answer, he couldn't find it in himself to speak. It was like his chakra had been sucked dry, what had Orochimaru done to him?! Kimiko was still trembling, which was beginning to unsettle him since it was one thing she never did. She never appeared I composed unless it was for a reason. Now, there was no reason except that this was genuine. She put his arm around her shoulders and slowly helped him down as his body started giving out. "Shelter." She choked out. "Locate… closest… shelter."

Sakura nodded quickly, "Alright, w-where's the m-map?"

Kimiko pointed up at Naruto before falling to the ground, to exhausted to hold the two of them up. Sasuke was sore and tired and fighting desperately to stay awake. He felt some fumbling beside him. Slow, unfocused fumbling, but still. He turned his head with what little energy he had left to see Kimiko offering half a pill to him- he recognised it as the pill the medical team had designed to curb the effects in case she ever fell sick and needed to stay coherent enough to get to the hospital-, "To maybe keep you from dying from the eff– URGH!" She rolled away, emptying the contents of her stomach into the grass. He just nodded and swallowed the pill before passing out with her.

This is basically the Cover Image. Lots of Easter Eggs. Lots of hidden messages. Look closely and tell me what you think.


	13. Training Montage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No real montage. Just a lot of training. And Kakashi is an idiot.

I stared Gaara in the eye, "Are you supposed to be here, Gaara-san?"

Gaara didin't answer, so I started exuding Killing Intent, "What do you want from me?"

He answered, "Mother needs your blood. I need your blood. To prove my existence. It's gonna be a sacrifice that'll soothe Mother for months!"

He laughed, and it fixed in my mind that he was unstable. I looked around, taking note of Haku right behind me. We exchanged messages from subtle twitches of eyes and hands, before Haku soundlessly left. Her dark clothes and hair helped her blend seamlessly in the night, and it seemed Gaara was too fixated on me to notice her. "Leave, Gaara-san." I commanded, voice hard.

Red, pulsating chakra hit me like a brick wall, as Gaara chuckled darkly, "Your blood! Your blood! I need your blood to prove I'm alive!"

I readied myself for a fight, bones moving towards the outside of my body in the form of knives, ready to hit. I didn't expect it to happen, and it happened so fast I couldn't avoid. Sand was encasing me, rendering me immobile. Pushing and Pushing and Pushing. It was so dry, it felt like the moisture was being sucked right out of me. It hurt so much, I couldn't bear it. I was gonna have to break. I couldn't breathe, at all. Nothing. My eyes were screwed shut to guard against it, but the grains were rubbing them raw. I immediately switched all my bone reserves to Fossil Defense. It was as thick as I could make it, centered around essential organs, like the brain and my chest. Even a few millimeters of the only material that was stronger than diamonds were enough protection for my moving limbs. Nausea was taking over me, severe exhaustion. The pressure increased, but I managed to match it, holding my own. It was pressing and pressing. Tons upon Tons of sand, piling around me with ill intent, and I had to make it through alive! I still couldn't breathe, but I managed to pull out lessons I had been given by Tayuya, Sound Five's best at chakra control on how to breathe in clean air in unsuitable environments. I controlled my chakra to form a filter over my mouth, even sand had to have room for oxygen between its grains, and slowly, my vision became clearer. I was still pushing, fighting. My will had to be stronger. I had to make noise. Something, anything to alert nearby shinobi. I was out of options, I couldn't use chakra since all my chakra was focused on letting me breathe and fluctuating it in code with mess up the concentration that I needed to keep the Fossil Defense going. Where was Haku?! I needed her! She had to go get help. I was getting tired. I needed water. All fluids were being sucked off by the sand. My muscles were worn out by the intense training that I had been doing for weeks now. I needed rest. The oppressive, painful chakra hitting against me like a staccato burnt like hell. I couldn't die now. There were things I needed to live for. My debt to Konoha had to be repaid. I couldn't leave my friends behind. Sasuke…Naruto…Kaito…Haku. They'd be crushed! Aoi would probably stoically march down into hell, find me, then drag my sorry ass back up. I couldn't focus, I was getting numb. Circulation was cutting off in areas from the tight pressure. I knew, it had been barely twenty minutes, but I couldn't be sure. Was it in an hour? A century? It was just me crouched down, fighting against a mass of sand, in my own little personal dimension. In that moment, nothing else existed. And I had time to think about things I never did otherwise. Aniki. The sacrifices he made for me. The person he helped me become. All my mistakes, my decisions. True, they were warped and twisted, and too haywire for me to actually count them as to things my brain had come up with. I wanted to give up. I couldn't breathe properly anymore. The chakra filter was failing. Sand grains were blocking my nostrils. My bone were groaning… And I was snatched out of the sand, the sudden motion giving me vertigo. I slowly steadied myself, taking in the precious air. Air I would never again take as granted, and groaned. I looked a mess. I was breathing heavily, deep bruising, and scratches all over. I looked at my savior, and caught sight of tilted silver hair, "K-Kakashi-sensei." I coughed out, some sand spitting out of my mouth.

Kakashi-sensei eye-smiled at me, but when he spoke, his voice was serious, "Haku-chan came to get me. You sit back, I'll get you to the hospital."

I shook my head to clear my thoughts, "What about Gaara?" I asked.

Kakashi-sensei looked grimly at the boy, and that was when I realized the number of Konoha ANBU surrounding him. I got up sharply, but the motion was too abrupt and my stiff and exhausted body fell in a dead faint…

I woke up in the hospital. Sasuke was staring at me with an unimpressed glare, "Hn. You should really stop landing yourself in here." He said.

I stared stonily back, "You make it seem like I asked myself to be attacked by a Suna-nin."

Sasuke scoffed, "You really weren't able to stand up to him?"

I nodded, "Yeah. He had this super freaky chakra." I nodded, "E had this insane chakra. Just freaky. It made it hard to focus on… anything really."

He seemed interested, "Really? So he's that tough?"

I nodded, "Worse, actually. It reminded me of…" I trailed off, was I allowed to say it out loud? Naruto had told me to keep my interests to myself and if Sasuke got interested, it would be harder to talk him down.

He nudged me, "…Of?"

I just shook him off, "Nothing. It's nothing. I forgot."

He just shrugged and moved on, "Hn, you're lucky we were doing a supply run when Haku came up looking for help."

I nodded, "What did you with Gaara?"

He fidgeted, "I'm not really sure. You should ask Kakashi-Sensei about it. He's in a meeting with the Hokage right now."

I changed the subject, "By the way, what are you doing here, anyways? You're supposed to be training for the Chunin Exams."

A nurse bent forward to set up a bed for me, and I sighed, as she slowly handed me chopsticks.

"Hn, when you're in the hospital?" Sasuke grunted.

I had learnt to just let him be, but not this time. A promotion was on the line, "Yes. I'll be fine. A few scratches and bruises-"

"And severe chakra exhaustion, dehydration, hypoxemia, stretched muscles and a concussion–" the nurse interjected, poking me harshly with a stern look on her face.

"and a concussion, but give it a week at most and I'll be fine. You need to get back to training."

Sasuke gave me a look that looked vaguely reproachful if you looked deep enough, "If you're sure…" he allowed, before stalking out.

Kakashi was blending into the walls, guarding Kimiko from any other attacks. He supposed one would call him paranoid, but during her stay after the Evil Sealing, she _had_ been nearly abducted, and a lot of her medical records had been nearly stolen. He had stopped the guys, but that didn't stop them from trying again. By this point, it was getting ridiculous. He had to speak to Hokage-sama about giving her an ANBU squad to keep an eye on her at least while she was in-village. He heard the conversation she had with Sasuke, and he was mildly troubled. Had Naruto told Kimiko about him being a jinchuuriki? Now that he thought about it, she had been avoiding him, or did they just never talk outside missions? No, she was definitely more outgoing than him. She was definitely avoiding the boy. This was bad. What if she turned against Naruto for what Gaara did? He had to make sure that never happened. Naruto relied on the girl _a lot._ Sensei's son would be crushed! …And he was freaking out, wasn't he? Okay, calm down, nothing overly bad would happen. He blended out of the wall, and into the hallway, casually walking into the room as soon as it was empty. "Hello, Kimiko. How are you doing?" he asked, carefully.

She bowed her head, "Fine, I suppose. A little sore, like a particularly brutal training exercise, but no outward damage."

Kakashi-sensei nodded, "Good. I heard your conversation with Sasuke, and I just want you to know, that, you shouldn't compare Gaara to Naruto. They may be similar, but trust me, Naruto would never do that to you. Jinchūriki aren't all like that boy."

She blinked, slowly, before answering, "Naruto's a jinchūriki?"

Kakashi felt his heart jump to his mouth, "Y-You didn't know?!"

She shook her head. Kakashi felt like screaming. What the hell?! He had revealed an S-Rank secret by accident! This was an actual disaster. Kimiko cast him a searching look, "That…explains a lot." She finally said, "But now Naruto is gonna hate me, cause he wanted to tell me."

That…was fairly neutral. "This, was a S-rank secret I just accidentally told you." He managed to say.

Kimiko looked amused when she asked, "An S-ranked secret that every fucking civilian and their mother knows?"

He just gave a weary sigh, "I thought Naruto told you."

Kimiko just shrugged, "Maybe fact-check next time?" she suggested so innocently, he felt like grinding his teeth.

"I'll keep it in mind, next time." He ground out, before swinging around and leaving through the window.

As he left, he heard her deadpan, "Is it that common that you truly believe there will be a next time?" Yeah, he had totally walked into that last one. His little genin was taking after him! Was he supposed to be irritated or glad?

I had no visitors for some time after that, but the absence of clocks left me unaware as to how much time had actually passed. Haku came in next, bobbing up and down nervously, "I should've been able to help you sooner, Senpai."

I shook my head curtly, "It was no trouble, Haku. I was able to hold my own for long enough for you to get back up to the area."

She laughed self-deprecatingly, "But it just proves I how much I need to improve. After Zabuza, you're the only one left that's important to me. I can't lose you too. Not like this."

I rolled my eyes, "If you'll be like that, you might as well help me sneak out."

She blinked, "Why? Aren't you meant to be here?"

I narrowed my eyes, "It was your fault I ended up here to begin with, so… you might as well cover for me while I run some errands."

Haku finally sighed, "Are you planning on training, Senpai? Because I really don't feel comfortable with…"

I pulled up my –still mostly boneless –hair into a ponytail, "That's not it. I need to clear things up with Naruto."

Haku bit her lip, "Er, okay, Senpai, if you're sure… I'll just keep an Ice clone of you while you're gone."

I grinned, and I quickly got up, stretching my muscles slowly, "Thanks, Haku. Now we're even." I thanked her, before stepping out of the window and using chakra to stick to the walls. I jumped from building to building, sliding easily like a monkey in a forest, easily honing onto Naruto's chakra when I moved closer to Ichiraku's ramen.

True to form, I found Naruto digging into what might be his third large bowl of ramen, "Hey, Kimiko!" he yelled out when he saw me, "What're you doing here? Sasuke-teme said you were in the hospital!" he then tacked on, "I tried to visit you, but they said that you weren't allowed visitors."

I frowned, "Bullshit," I observed, "Haku was allowed inside before I snuck out. But it's alright. I actually wanted to talk to you, Naruto."

Naruto looked confused, "Why?"

I cast a look around, "Not here. Let's talk somewhere else."

He bit his lip, "Uh, alright? Let me just…" he pulled out his frog wallet, and counted out the ryo he needed to pay back the ramen owner, before following me. I went slowly through the forest, looking for a good place for a conversation. "You can stop now." He said, hesitantly, "No one's around."

I looked towards him, "How do you know?"

He just shrugged, "I just sorta do? I can feel this prickly presence around people…"

I continued to stare at him, "Naruto… are you a sensor?"

He blinked, "What's that?"

I sighed, "It's when you can naturally sense other people's chakra. It's a useful skill to have but few people are born with that ability."

Naruto brightened, "Really?! I'm that awesome?!"

I looked stonily at him, "It's got more to do with your genealogy than your…awesomeness level."

He rubbed his neck, "I knew that! …Anyways, what did you want to talk about?"

Right, I needed to put this new revelation aside for now. "You know how I ended up in the hospital, right?"

Naruto nodded, "Kakashi-sensei said you were ambushed by Gaara."

I nodded, "The thing is, his chakra when he attacked me kind of reminded me when you got this boost in the Forest of Death."

He start sweating but I stubbornly continued, "Well, I thought it had something to do with your secret, so I didn't mention it to Sasuke. But Kakashi-sensei thought I was now terrified of you because of your secret, which he thought I knew and…"

Naruto was blinking rapidly, "Can you PLEASE get to the point?" he begged.

I fingered my clan brand, "Ano, I guess what I'm saying is that I know you're the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi." He froze, and I quickly tacked on, "But Kakashi-sensei was the one who accidentally told me. And I really won't judge you for it."

Naruto blinked, "Y-You won't?"

His voice was so broken, his face lacking that false exuberance, "I won't." I reassured him, "I literally am a walking skeleton. You've been protecting Konoha from the Kyuubi since you were born. If anything, that makes you really brave. And much stronger than anyone I've ever known."

I was immediately tackled by Naruto in a bear hug. I felt a moistness on my shoulder, "Thanks! Thank you so, so much! Dattebayo!" he sobbed. Why was he crying?

I slowly returned his hug cautiously, "It's alright. I mean it. I got your back."

He slowly got up, wiping his eyes, "Thanks. I mean it –ttebayo. Gah, you must think I'm a crybaby now…"

I shook my head, "Its alright. I honestly don't care. I don't judge the ones close to me."

He gave me a watery smile, "T-Thanks. I don't know why you think so much of me…"

I deadpanned, "Besides you being able to master an A-ranked kinjutsu in one night, an absolute chakra beast, one of the last living Uzumaki, a damn good sensor, and one of the only rookies to make it to the Chuunin Exams' final stage."

Naruto grinned as he scratched his cheek, "Guess I am pretty awesome, aren't I? –ttebayo?"

I looked at him testily, "Not with that overconfidence, but I suppose you can work on it later."

He pouted, "Gah, fine."

I patted his shoulder, "Keep at it, Naruto. Now, I gotta go back before the hospital staff notice I'm gone."

He smirked, "Haku's covering for you, isn't she?"

I shrugged, giving him a non-answer, before dashing away.

I reached the hospital out of breath and ridiculously sore, even though I was used to even more grueling paces. Guess the Sand Funeral took more out of me than I thought. Haku just saw me, nodded and dispelled her clone before wordlessly leaving. I just cuddled in the blankets and meditated. Ever since I had accidentally got into my mindscape, I had been trying to replicate it. I calmed myself down, keeping my breathing even, erasing my chakra signature completely like I had been taught by Kazuyuki-sama, the Kaguya clan patriarch and the only one who would dare approach Shikotsumyako users. It was a lesson I had not forgotten since it had been essential for my survival, as Tayuya and Zabuza had drummed into me. If an enemy can find you, you're fucked. Usually, I just shrank down my reserves, to make me appear like I have lower chakra, and fluctuated it a little to make me seem more emotionally vulnerable like Ibiki-Shishou suggested. I closed my eyes, and when I opened them again, I found myself once more, in the twisted prison of my mind. I moved around the mindscape, looking at old lost memories. I relived past training sessions, practiced kata, sorted out the moves. As much as I hated to admit it, Kidomaru, Sakon and Ukon were terrifyingly good teachers. I found new ideas for techniques as I revisited Kimimaro's sparring sessions. It was a productive few hours. I found out about old jailmates I had forgotten about. About old stories and training techniques I used to spend the time with. Even my first kill. That was how I found myself in front of a padlocked door, with a warning sign on it. Through the cracks of the boards, mist leaked out, and the sounds of screeching agony from the nearby recollections of torture sessions, it was clear what this was. The Battle of Silence. My most traumatic memory. It was a black spot on my record as a shinobi. How was I supposed to be a good ninja if my first experiences with war was too disturbing to even look at? I closed my eyes, and took a deep breath. If what my classes in T&I were saying were true, then Konoha was set to be invaded in two weeks, and I had to get my shit together before that time. It was time to stop pushing away the training and the skills I had kept locked away after the Battle of Silence and use them to my advantage. I reopened my eyes with conviction and pressed my hand on the padlock, bypassing all the barricades and stepping into the memory.

_Quiet. It was so mind-numbingly quiet. The mist was so thick, it actively muted out the sound. I couldn't see five feet ahead of me. Sometimes, I would hear the slight throbbing pulse of a hundred assassins running in formation, silent as the night. Figures dashed around me, too tall for me to get a good glimpse of them. I was silent, moving between the puddles left behind by Suiton techniques, and fallen corpses at a lightning-quick speed. I stabbed and slashed, aiming for the legs or groin of anyone who I encountered, before finishing them. Sometimes I found fighters who were screaming battle cries in the silence, and just quietly avoided them. No one except my clan members would scream in a battle where the opponents were trying to catch the others by surprise. My hair was sticking out like needles, and I was covered in blood. Literally bathed in it. I had killed so many people, heard so many quiet sobs for mercy. I had destroyed the hopes and dreams of nearly a hundred people. The feeling of blood, oozing off of my arms and legs, and not a single drop of it being mine. I felt unclean, raw. I had been playing God, then. Deciding who get's to play Kami. It was just a dance, to me, at that time. Spin, twirl, flourish your wrists, click your feet, swing your arms, slit a throat. Dodge with a bow, Deflect by twisting your shoulder and striking a pose. Jazz hands? Killed ten people with one extreme hit. So much deadly precision, a display of skills I had forgotten I had. Everything I had refused to acknowledge I could and have done. Just to try and convince myself that I was a good person. One that deserved the company of people like Sasuke, and Naruto, who had seen so little as to what the ninja world was all about. I had to protect those two, even if I knew it was futile. I had to give it my best shot. They wouldn't be tainted. Not yet. I had to protect them in the coming invasion._

I woke up, feeling completely refreshed. My mind was humming with ideas and decisions, and I flung myself into training as soon as I was released. I spent the next week continuously training without stopping. I didn't stop training until I was exhausted. I worked like a girl possessed. I trained and I trained and I trained, because I was given the power, the tools, to destroy my enemies, and I would do it. To repay my debt to Konoha. That was how it was, three hours of sleep and ration bars kept me going. I needed to protect Naruto and Sasuke. I needed to prove to Aniki that I was strong enough to be someone he could stand by. I needed this. There was no time for investigations. No time for personal matters. Konoha needed me. My friends would need me. I only snapped out of it a day before the Exams, when Naruto ran into one of my training sessions, looking visibly depressed. I cast him a glance before continuing to practice my Water Dragon jutsu. He groaned when I managed to form the full dragon and sending it barreling into the ground. "It's so unfair! You're getting so much better and here I am just sitting pathetically, dattebayo!" He whined.

I looked at him, "Didn't you get the Kuchiyose no Jutsu?"

He nodded, "Well, I did, but… Ero sennin said that there's nothing else he can teach me that I'll be able to use in time for the Exams!"

I narrowed my eyes. Was Jiraiya-sama not aware of the invasion? "How did it go, anyways?" I asked, "Were you able to call upon the Boss Summons?"

He nodded, "Yeah, but only after he threw me into a chasm –ttebayo!"

My eyes widened, "He what?"

Naruto nodded and continued to bitch, "Yeah, it's because when I'm in danger of dying, the Kyuubi naturally tries to keep me safe, cause when I die, he dies –ttebayo!"

My breath hitched, "You…talked to the Kyūbi no Yoko? How was it?"

He grinned bitterly, "Real asshole, that guy. Threatened to kill me himself and whatnot. Such a bastard. Screaming about jailers and tormentors and all that shit."

I nodded, "That… actually reminds me of one of my fellow Shikotsumyako users from the Kaguya clan."

He looked up, "It does?"

I hummed, setting myself down, letting myself relax as much as I could without being open to attack, "Yes, this boy named Kubo. His mother was from our sister clan, the Kaiju clan. They were known for their odd impulses and bipolar behavior. He was the eldest at the time to have the Shikotsumyako, at twelve years of age. He fought for the Kaguya in the Third World War, and they thanked him by shoving him in a cage. Because of what he was. Because of what he could do."

Naruto blinked, "That sounds…awful."

I nodded hesitantly, unsure why I was telling him this, "He used to scream all day and night, slamming at the bars and the walls beside me. Screaming about the unfairness of it all." The sealed mark on me seemed to burn when I said that, as if reminding me what it contained. "I was five years old then. I didn't understand. Sometimes, he'd calm down. When I asked him to. He liked to play little games with me. And I found out he wasn't a bad person. Not really. He was forced to become one."

Naruto bit his lip, "What-what happened to him?"

I looked up at the sky, letting all the tension seep out of me unwillingly. I couldn't keep on going like this. I would burn out before the fight began, "He was killed. They made me do it. To show me that 'the world wasn't worth living in'."

His eyes widened, but he stayed silent. And that was good. "Thank you, Naruto." I said.

He looked at me, "What for, dattebayo?"

I shrugged to show my uncertainty, "For staying with me. I know you wanted to tell me about the Kyūbi. I needed something to ground me right now, I was letting my emotions get the best of me."

He grinned at me, "No problem. But maybe you should redirect some of your emotions somewhere else? I always feel better when I blow something up or prank someone."

I nodded dumbly, thinking of the Suna-Oto invasion. This was getting ridiculous. Shit needed to be done.


	14. The Not-Finals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some insight as to what happened behind the scenes. That seems to be it. Also the prelims, but I skip over most of them, cause I suck at fight scenes.

Kakashi paced the halls of the Forest of Death's central tower. It was the night of the third day, when he had been summoned urgently by the Hokage, he had prepared for bad news. What he was told was worse than bad. Orochimaru had targeted HIS team. Out of everyone there, it was his team. If Anko and ANBU accounts were to be believed, Sasuke was the main target. Why Sasuke? What was so special about him? The obvious aside, what was so special about the Uchiha heir's Sharingan that Orochimaru would risk going into Konoha, especially when security was already bolstered due to the Chūnin Exams? It made no sense. Kimiko-chan had been incredibly close to being abducted. That was frustrating, not being able to do anything without jeopardising his own team. Logically, he knew this was way more important than any promotion, considering the last he'd heard, they'd been lying nearly unconscious under a tree, but he could just imagine Kimiko staring up at him, nearly vibrating with cold fury if he stepped in. What was he doing here?! He was supposed to be with his squad. They could be dying right now! They needed– "Ano… Kaka-Sensei, are you waiting for someone?" A cheerful voice asked from somewhere on his right.

He swung around to see Naruto grinning foolishly at him and a weight lifted off of his shoulders, "Maa, Naruto, where are your teammates?" He asked light-heartedly.

The blonde shrugged, "I dunno, they're probably with Boss, I was sent to look ahead for you. Speaking of which-" the now-confirmed Shadow Clone dispersed into smoke. Damn, Naruto was getting good at that jutsu. He walked off, into the main entrance, where he suspected his team would be. Sure enough, there they were, surrounded by the other Konoha teams that had passed. Inuzuka Kiba and Naruto seemed to be in an intense argument, along with Ino and Sakura–who was wearing a new hairstyle, much better suited for the shinobi lifestyle– while Aburame Shino and Sasuke engaged in a stiff conversation that resembled a game of twenty questions more than an actual conversation. Nara Shikamaru looked like he was asleep on his feet while Akimichi Chōji passed a packet of chips to a strange black-haired girl who had her tresses roughly shorn off as if with a kunai. He squinted a little, assessing the new girl's body language, before realising with a jolt that she was Kimiko. What happened to her hair? He dropped down in front of the group, "I heard you four ran into some trouble. What happened?"

"We ran into Orochimaru, the arrival of ANBU forced him to retreat, though." Sasuke and Kimiko said simultaneously, before glaring at each other. …Okay, that was weird.

"I know that already. You four, follow me, we need to speak somewhere privately." His squad nodded and immediately waved goodbye to the other two teams before following him in a diamond formation; Naruto and Sasuke at the sides, Sakura at the front and Kimiko bringing up the rear. That was…mildly interesting. He had noticed Kimiko always positioned herself in a crowd at the optimum position to either quickly escape in case of attack or use the others as human shields. Unless the crowd had people she liked, in which case she always positioned herself in a way so she could easily protect them. He was sure it was a subconscious habit, but the fact that everyone else had picked it was... worrying.

He made his way to the room that had been reserved for Team 7 if they managed to get there before five days. It was a plain room, with only three beds and a window. He put a privacy seal on the door and activated it, "Okay, then, tell me exactly what happened." Naruto immediately sat on a bed and Sakura followed suit. Sasuke sat down against a wall, but Kimiko remained standing, posture ramrod straight, face set. She was on high alert.

Kimiko nodded, "It was less than a few hours into the first day. We were attacked by a Kusa-nin, who was later revealed to be Orochimaru. The attack separated us from Naruto, who was apparently attacked by a giant snake. He used Killing Intent to immobilize Sasuke and Sakura, while I engaged him. We figured that he was after me, since he mentioned needing me to fix Aniki. I offered to act as a sacrificial piece to allow them to move away, but Naruto arrived just in time to shoot the idea down. In hindsight, I don't believe he would have stopped even then, since he seemed rather eager to give Sasuke the curse mark. At some point, he summoned a giant snake, which Naruto... managed to push back. It didn't work, though, since Orochimaru hit Naruto with something that messed up his chakra and knocked him out." Kakashi narrowed his eyes, noting as she cast a glance at the boy in question before continuing impassively, "Sasuke started his main attack just then, using a combination of shurikenjutsu and the Dragon Flame Jutsu. It seemed to leave behind a charred corpse, but when he neared it, Orochimaru revealed he was alive and attempted to bite him on the neck as a means to transfer the curse mark on to him."

He spoke up, "Attempted? What do you mean?" He doubted ANBU would have showed up before he got what he wanted, or that Sasuke could've managed to evade him from that long.

Kimiko just gave an exasperated sigh, before Sasuke spoke up, "How difficult can it be?"

He blinked, that... was just odd. Kimiko glared at the Uchiha, who glared right back- which was also weird. Sasuke and Kimiko barely ever outright showed agression, it was more of a quiet sense of barely tolerating- before Kimiko held up her right hand, exposing the single tomoe on the middle finger. He blinked, his eyes immediately going to Sasuke's neck, where Anko had been bitten as well. Two tomoes. "Well, this is... unexpected. How did it happen?" he finally managed to fight his surprise.

Sasuke replied, "Tch. She wrapped her hands around her neck in an effort to stop him from biting me. It only stopped one fang, though." Oh, right. Her brother. He had investigated Kaguya Kimimaro when Kimiko had been put on his team, and he had found confirmation of the boy being in the inner circle of the Snake Sannin, it was probable that she had witnessed the curse mark being applied.

"What happened after that?" he probed gently.

Kimiko shrugged, "Most of it is hazy, since I was fighting to stay conscious when we moved to shelter right after that. When I felt unconscious, I guess that was when I became aware of this. Stupid. Mental. Link." that last part was said immediately by both Sasuke and Kimiko.

He sweatdropped as Naruto shuddered, "That still isn't any less freaky, dattebayo." he silently agreed.

"Any negative effects of the split seal?" he decided on saying.

Silence, as everyone deadpanned him, then Sasuke grunted, "Hn, I think he did."

Kakashi looked between the two, "What did you think? To him? Kami, this is weird."

Kimiko nodded, "I was thinking about if you had heard the part about us having a mental link. I did not mean to have him listen in."

Kakashi quirked a brow, "So you can't control what the other picks up or not?"

Sasuke nodded curtly, and Kimiko just glared pointedly at him, "He also subconsciously transmitted HIS nightmares into MY mind, and I like my nightmares way better than his."

That comment set off Sasuke, _"Seriously?!_ Last time we stopped to rest, all I managed to dream about was swimming in blood. Your nightmares will give ME nightmares."

Kimiko looked disgruntled as she opened her mouth, before Kakashi cut them both off tiredly, "Are you seriously arguing about who has worse nightmares?" The two at least had the common decency to look at least a little sorry. Kami, he needed to get these two therapies. Or at least a session with a Yamanaka. "Okay, here's the plan; you all won't breathe a word about this. I will seal away the curse mark, but I can't guarantee anything about the telepathic link. Do you want me to do it now, and forfeit from the Exams, or hold out for two more days?"

Silence, Kimiko's brow furrowed, thinking rapidly, "Hn, I'm with her on this one." Sasuke commented.

He cast an unimpressed look at the –now black-haired?– girl, who was looking at him exasperatedly, "Will you forfeit, or not?"

"No." They both said simultaneously, and this time, it looked like they it was an honest mistake.

Kakashi nodded, "Okay then, you guys can leave. Rest up, okay? You've been doing really well."

Sakura nodded, and quickly darted out, while Sasuke and Kimiko followed at a more sedate pace. Only Naruto stayed behind, uncharacteristically quiet. "Kakashi-sensei, can I ask you something?" he asked, slowly.

Kakashi looked at Naruto carefully, the normally cheerful boy looked really downcast. He had realized from the start that Naruto hid all of his actual emotions behind that overly cheerful façade but what could have broken it? He thought back to Kimiko's words, about Naruto standing up to the snake summon. Could this have something to do with the Kyuubi? "Yes, Naruto? What is it?" he asked, gently. The loud grin he had on when he first came in, completely gone. Poor kid looked like he was about to burst into tears.

"I'm... not really sure, what happened during the encounter we had with Orochi-freak. A-All I remembered was this screaming in my ears, and I-I'm not really sure what Kimiko was talking about. But everyone's been treating me different. Giving wary looks. Almost as if they're scared. And-and I'm just scared, what if they found out? What I am? I-I don't want them to leave me too!" Tears were spilling over his eyes, and Naruto's shoulders shook from the sobs. Kakashi winced. He hadn't had much experience with kids. He almost forgot how terrified Naruto was of people not accepting him for who he was.

How was he supposed to get him to calm down?! Oh, Kami, the sobs were getting harder! He suddenly sympathized with Kimiko's social ineptitude. He uncertainly sat down next to him, and wrapped his arm around the boy, "Naruto..." he tried, as Naruto stiffened at the contact. "It's gonna be alright. They won't judge you... but you don't have to tell them, if you don't want to. It's okay, you're safe right now."

Naruto hiccuped, finally leaning into the embrace and Kakashi felt another jolt of anger at those Stupid IGNORANT Civilians, "It's just, ever since that attack. I-I've been feeling weird. Cold. Like I'm all alone. For the first time in my life. I-I've never felt this alone!" He broke off into a fresh wave of sobs.

Kakashi froze, "What do you mean?"

Naruto pulled away from him, "I can't really explain. I guess, he hit me really, really hard, and when I woke up it was really cold. Like something was missing. You know, dattebayo?" He was still teary-eyed, but a little more anxious than before. This was bad, this was very bad.

"Where did he hit you? What sort of attack was it? Have you noticed anything different about your chakra?" Questions bubbled out of him, thinking rapidly. Did Orochimaru know about Naruto's status of a jinchuuriki beforehand?

Naruto wiped at his eyes, "Ano... I'm not really sure, everything's fuzzy around that time. But I remember this burning feeling on my stomach, so...?" he quickly sifted through things, "Do you think something's wrong with me? Is the Kyuubi gonna take over or something?!"

He was sweating bullets now, and Kakashi let out a forced, shaky laugh to lighten the mood, "Maa, nothing as extreme as that will happen before I can stop it. It'll be fine. We'll get that seal checked out, later. Okay?"

Naruto nodded, a genuine smile on his face, relief clear as day, "Kay! But... I'm still worried, Kakashi-sensei, Kimiko's been giving me these weird searching looks. I know she means well, but... what if she does find out? She'll hate me... even though she's the only one who's treated me like a-a friend."

Kakashi smiled, ruffling his hair, "It'll be alright, Naruto. I don't think Kimiko is capable of making irrational decisions, and she doesn't let other people's opinions bias her own."

Naruto grinned, "Thanks, sensei! I won't let you down!" Before running out after his teammates.

Asuma couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You're here EARLY?" he asked as soon as he saw his squad.

Shikamaru nodded, "Troublesome, isn't it?"

Asuma grinned, "No, just unexpected. I'm glad you started putting an effort. Can I ask what brought this on, though?"

It was Chōji who spoke up, "Kimiko-chan got us to help Team 7. She made a plan with Team 8 and us that would make sure all three of us passed."

Asuma raised an eyebrow, "...And you went along with this because...?"

Ino grimaced, "Cause Fossil Freak threatened to sabotage us and get us kicked out?"

Of course she did. The fact that Kaguya Kimiko had manipulated them into putting just a little bit more effort made him unsure whether to ask her for her secrets or be very scared of this kid. He meant it; silver-haired children seemed to be prodigies by default. He was certain Kakashi had corrupted her, since the little child seemed to be emulating him in either overexaggerated expressions or a completely blank poker face. "I still somehow think that wouldn't have stopped you, Shikamaru" he noted.

Shikamaru scowled, "She said she'd send a bone spider after me to make sure I can't fall asleep for four days if we skip out on her." Yeah, that made way more sense.

"Then we saw her kill six people in less than a minute, and realized it was better to help her even if we knew she really wouldn't attack us." Chōji added, shuddering. Ah, yes, the girl had been the wild card of the Battle of Silence. Asuma really should've expected things to go that way. He really needed to talk to Kakashi about easing that kid out of the mission mode thing.

I was standing in line with the rest of Team 7, on our left and right, stood Team 8 and 10. Team Gai was the only other team from Konoha to get through. The Sand Siblings from Suna were the last team here. We all stared at the board, which had the first matchups written on it. _Kaguya Kimiko versus Hokori Temari._ Interesting, she's from the Hokori clan. If I remember correctly, Kabuto had told me it was Suna's royal clan, apparently possessing a kekkei genkai, so does she have it too?

The others emptied the floor, and the proctor raised his hand, "Any objections?" I looked at the sharp-featured blonde, who glared right back. The giant fan seemed to suggest a Futon user. Well… she was from Kaze no Kuni. She would aim for heavy attacks, get this over with quickly. She also probably doesn't know what I have up my sleeve, since out of kekkei genkai, Shikotsumyako was one of the more obscure ones. We both shook our heads, and took our stances. The tension in the air built up until he raised a hand, "…Begin."

None of us moved. I was thinking quickly; the sooner I got this done, the better, since I couldn't waste even a second while using Shikotsumyako. I located all the major kill points, but decided against using them. She may be the heir of the Hokori clan. Instead, I loosened my position, relaxing, putting that resigned face that Kaito always puts on when challenged to a fight that he knows he can't win, and put my hands up. She tensed, waiting for a trick, but I just held my hands away from my body, looking non-threatening, "It's obvious you're gonna win. I won't get in your way." I stated blandly. That threw her in for a loop. I knew I confused her, mixed messages from my body language and my dead eyes and lazy voice disconcerting her even more, making her loosen her stance for just a moment. A moment was all I needed to strike. Before anyone could even blink, my fingers bent into several directions, and my distal phalanges zapped out with deadly precision, two hit each of her wrists and ankles and nearly pierced through; one sharp and aerodynamic, perfect for cutting straight through, the other with serrated edges to get lodged inside and make it hurt. The last two, however, went around her neck and lengthened before fusing with each other to form a sort of collar, that quickly started constricting.

I could hear Naruto in the background, "Kami! I didn't even see her! That's incredible!" But the pain that erupted soon after nearly made me buckle. I winced as I realized the black flames were going up my hand, and I could have this power. The power that could kill Itachi! The power of the Kaiju clan and the Kaguya clan went hand in hand! Itachi needed me to get stronger! This was what my brother wa- Shut the hell up. Stupid Orochimaru for doing this to me. I cut off chakra flowing in that direction, and tried to ignore the blistering pain, "Forfeit." I said darkly, my bangs covering my eyes.

Temari was on the floor, bleeding out and choked out, "F-forfeit." I let the bone collar down, and hazily walked over to pick it up. Medics rushed onto the scene and started bandaging her up. I groaned mentally and dragged myself off to the viewing deck, where the rest of my team was standing. Sasuke looked at me, just for a second, and I could feel him rising to a challenge. What challenge? This was odd...

"Hn, course I will." He scoffed. Before freezing, and boy, this was getting old fast. I couldn't wait for Kakashi-sensei to do something about this.

Kakashi-sensei leaned down, and I distantly heard him saying, "There's a high chance that'll you'll be next, Sasuke, since we really need to get that curse mark sealed."

Sure enough, it was _Uchiha Sasuke versus Yamanaka Ino_ next. We all knew what would happen before it even did. "I FORFIET!" Ino basically yelled, grinning like a fool. The proctor sweatdropped, "Er… alright…? Next match!"

Kakashi-sensei just let out a sigh of relief and I felt his hand picking up the collar of my shirt and picking me up. I suppressed my urge to stab him with my clavicle. "Thank goodness, I was hoping one of you didn't have to fight. Just…stop…struggling!"

Sasuke and I simultaneously said, "We can't help it. Just stop dragging us like a sack of potatoes."

He simply sighed, "You two know what you did." He took us to an empty chamber with weird glowing words all over and locks and just dumped us there while he busied himself with the locks and the weird writing. Hmm, must be, seals. Kami, I'm exhausted. Is this what chakra exhaustion felt like. "Okay, Kimiko, take off your jacket. Sasuke, your shirt."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, "W-Why?" Discomfort was almost radiating off of him.

Kakashi-sensei finished up with the locks and turned towards us, "Well, I need to write somewhere, don't I?"

My actual thoughts were fuzzy, I could only observe what was happening, and the only reason I was still conscious was because I as fighting my body to stay awake. I barely registered the inky brush drawing the seal on my hand and arm, continuing on into the ground. I couldn't focus. Emotions were bombarding me, chakra, sound, light, the slightest vibrations cutting through the air made me want to rest. To relax. But the last exam wasn't over yet. I needed this seal off me. I needed to stay coherent. I wasn't in my apartment and I wasn't safe. A jolt of chakra suddenly ripped through me. Chakra that I managed to recognize as Sensei's, cutting off all circulation to that area of my finger. The burning chakra leaking into my system cut off so abruptly that I blacked out. The wave of sleep that I had been putting off for the last two days.

I jolted up, my vision completely blocked with black spots and latched onto a wrist, slamming it onto a…bed? In the Forest of Death? Where was I? This was weird. I blinked quickly, clearing my mind. Focusing on my surroundings. Doing what I did best. The smell of disinfectant proved I was in the hospital. My vision slowly corrected, and I found myself staring at Haku's worried face, the hair pulled back in a bun and in a regular shinobi uniform proved he was male right now. He was always more expressive than me. "I'm glad you're awake, Senpai." He said, sincerely, "I hope I didn't startle you."

I shook my head, "No harm done. What happened?"

Haku blinked, clearly expecting something derogatory aimed at him, "Ano… Kimiko-senpai, I was released from T&I and when I looked for you, Haruno-san told me that you were hospitalized. The medics said you would wake up a few days later, though. Do you still suffer from nightmares?"

I looked at Haku flatly, "That's not a good conversation starter."

He looked a bit sheepish, "Sorry, I'll keep that in mind."

I look at the beeping machines strapped to me and quirked an eyebrow, "Why am I here? Did I fall sick?" I fumbled a little with a needle to an IV as I pulled it out, memories flooding back. Sasuke! Where was he? I couldn't feel his emotions, it was relieving, except I didn't know where it had gone.

Haku looked concerned, "Senpai… are you certain that's a good idea?"

I looked at him, "I need some fresh air." and disconnected the wires to the heart monitors and other devices. A hand flashed out to stop me, and I looked up to see an ANBU mask staring at me. The Tsuru-style mask showed that they were a field medic.

"That won't be advised, Kaguya-san." They replied flatly, quickly reattaching all the wires and tubes I had disconnected, "I'll tell your sensei that you're cognizant. Yuki-san, you will stay here." They tacked on, perhaps sensing that Haku was about to leave. The boy in question froze, "and bring Kaguya-san up to date on the happenings of the last few days."

With that, they vanished. I looked at Haku, who just looked back at me uncomfortably. The silence may have seemed awkward to some, but I remember me and Haku spending most of our time in complete silence. Treating everything like a training opportunity. A normal conversation turned into a chance to become skilled at using sign language. Normal travels a stealth assignment. Even meetings with possible employers turned into an infiltration assignment, and a chance to work on our acting skills. We were at our best in silence, considering our only real exposure to war was the Battle of Silence. Why was I reminiscing about a war which was basically a mass assassination? Oh, yeah, wasn't he supposed to move to my apartment? "Hey… Haku, where are you living?" I finally broke that blessed silence, which was a shame.

Haku smiled, "I'm living at your place, Aoi-san cleared a room for me."

I frowned, "But I didn't show you the way."

Haku sat down on a chair, "It's really alright, Senpai, Aoi-san came to pick me up from T&I."

I nodded, "Good. What did you think of it?"

Haku rubbed the back of his neck, "Ano… I mean no disrespect, Senpai, but it's difficult to see why you haven't stabbed one of them yet. They don't seem to be very mindful of shinobi paranoia. Have you been bearing them because of the Kanjō clan heir?"

I tilted my head, "What?"

Haku tilted his head, "I thought you were aware of Kaito-kun's relation to the Kanjō clan."

I looked blankly at him, "Of course I knew his family name. But is the Kanjō clan really all that prestigious?"

Haku nodded, and I sighed. Of course, this actually explained why he was so touchy about me researching his name. I really tended to research subjects that my friends were unwilling to talk about, since my curiosity never seemed to be satiated until I understood what others were going through, and I preferred to not talk about it with those who were suffering, but Kaito had personally asked that I not do that when he found out about this quirk. And I really wasn't one to break a promise. I knew I was curious, but I let it go, because if Kaito ever deemed it necessary for me to know, he'd inform me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone's gonna complain, you'll see in the Konoha Crush Arc Kiyoko fighting, since I've already written that portion. Its nearly three chapters away, then you'll see what I mean.


	15. Why me?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Kimiko gets wrapped into a plot stuff. Give her a break, she just wants a nap, universe!

I was out of the hospital, finally! My hair was still black and boneless. The nurses had me out of there three days after I regained consciousness. Everyone was acting rather antsy, like they were walking on eggshells around me. Like I was about to stab them any second. I think it had been like that when I was sick, bones shooting out of whenever I coughed or sneezed. I didn't really remember that happening, but I suppose it must have. Usually when I was sick, it was like I had blacked out for at least a month, with only a hazy impression of nurses giving me ice baths or putting IV needles into me. I had never been admitted to the hospital when I was capable of coherent thought. The nurses tended to avoid me, never looking at me in the eyes, and flinching whenever they saw me practicing my kunai spinning chakra exercise with my bones. I got no visitors, which stung. But I couldn't tell if that was because I was anti-social or if the nurses were discouraging my visitors from coming. I wouldn't put it past them to intimidate Naruto away. Haku was still on probation, and spent a lot of his time teaching the Poison division of the hospital all the commonly used Kiri poisons and antidotes. Sasuke was still recovering since apparently his part of the curse mark had more influence over his chakra. And that was how I found myself in my room. Kaito had bowled me over when I had been released and Aoi had just exasperatedly sighed and helped me reach home in a more sedate pace. I like Aoi. Even though she adamantly refused to let me teach her basic escape jutsu and Academy kata– which left her completely vulnerable– I still like her. Aoi had dragged Kaito to school, so I was left alone in my room, feeling like I had been run over by a Bijū. Not the Kyūbi, that was too extreme, maybe the Ichibi? At most the Sanbi. A knock broke me out of my musings. "Hey, Kimiko! Can I come in? It's Naruto, dattebayo!" Naruto yelled.

"Come in." I hoarsely called back.

The door opened cautiously, showing Naruto carrying a bag, "Er… I brought you ramen, but… do you need some water, too?"

I paused, I had been thirstier before, but I suppose that wasn't a good scale, "Yes, I would like that."

In a flash, he had a glass of water held out in front of me, which I gratefully drank. I looked at him as he awkwardly set down the ramen containers and chopsticks down beside me, he wanted to talk about something, but what? "What do you want to talk about?"

He jolted, "Who says I wanted to talk about anything, dattebayo!" He was sweating.

I racked my brains, "Is this about me trying to figure out the secret to everything odd about you?" I asked. Had he noticed me looking? Did I make him uncomfortable? I hope not, he was a good partner. Naruto froze, confirming my suspicions, so I decided to make it better in the only way I knew how, i.e; doing exactly what Kaito would do. "It's got to be something awesome, right?" I continued, giving a small sincere smile, "I saw that thing you did in the Forest, I bet that was only a small flicker of what you can do, right?"

Naruto bit his lip, "Uh, well, I suppose if you put it like that, it's just…"

I reached for a cup of ramen, slowly opening it, "If you're scared, that's fine. I'll stop looking for clues. I really don't want to hurt you… you're a good friend." I leaned forward, handing him the cup of ramen.

Naruto blinked, "Wait, really?! You'll just give up, just like that? You think I'm your… friend?" the cup of ramen hung limply in his hand, and for the first time in his life, he didn't look hungry.

I just shrugged, "I respect people's privacy, if they tell me to. Besides, if you want to tell me eventually, you'll tell me. Whatever it is, it can't be that bad."

Naruto got knocked out of his stupor, "What do you mean-ttebayo?"

I shrugged, "I mean, people think I'm a demon, that I control my bones. You don't know how many people I've killed. How many people I've mutilated, destroyed and tortured. Yet, you still treat me as a regular girl. I honestly do not think you are capable of doing the things I once did. No matter what the people say. I am much worse than you'll ever be. You're just not capable of hurting the people of Konoha. You love this place too much."

Naruto's eyes were watering, "D-Do you really think so, ttebayo?"

I looked at Naruto with full conviction, with my chopsticks halfway to my mouth, "I know so." I said, with full conviction, "Now, the ramen's getting cold. You should eat up."

Naruto yelped, "My ramen!" and started eating as fast as possible. I laughed, as soft genuine laugh.

The next day, I was marginally better. I went down to getting ready for the exams. And that meant trying to figure out who exactly my opponent was and what the hell happened during the exams. It was easy to track down Kakashi-sensei. I found him in front of the Memorial Stone, I slowly approached him, "Hey, Kakashi-sensei, are you free?" I asked him cautiously.

"Yes, Kimiko?" his voice was a little raw, and his eyes a little red, but I politely ignored this.

"I wanted to know… who's in the finals? Against me?"

Kakashi-sensei eye-smiled, "Its Rock Lee."

A taijutsu specialist. A good matchup, I bet he's really excited. "Who's everyone else fighting?" I asked

Kakashi-sensei rubbed his chin, "Lets see… Naruto, is up against Hyūga Neji. While Sasuke is fighting Sabaku no Gaara."

I winced at that, "He's gonna need special training for that."

"He will." Kakashi-sensei replied neutrally. That's how I knew what was coming next.

"I suppose you won't have time for me, if he's really as powerful as you make it seem."

Kakashi-sensei nodded, "Hai. While the proctors stopped him from killing Sakura, he killed a Sound ninja not too long after."

A chill went up my spine, "So who will I train with?"

Kakashi-sensei shrugged, "Depends, really. I could get Mitarashi Anko to help you, seeing how eager she was to meet another one of Orochimaru's captives. Gai would be my top choice usually, but… he's Lee's sensei. Then there's the fact that Morino Ibiki showed interest in you."

What? Morino Ibiki, the head of T&I showed an interest in me? That reminded me about the tip off I had given him about Kabuto, "Why would show an interest in me?" I asked.

Kakashi-sensei just smiled, "He said something about you having the air of an interrogator, the ability to play mind games. Thought you should work on that. I would agree… but in the end its really your decision, especially since most of the things he'll teach you won't have all that much to do with taijutsu, or even ninjutsu."

I just shrugged, "It'll be worth checking out. I guess I could do that."

He eye-smiled, ruffled my black hair and walked away, "See you in a month, Kimiko."

The first thing I did was roof-jump to the T&I headquarters, the receptionist looked up when I came in, "Ah, Kimiko-san! Ibiki-san is expecting you!"

I offered a slight bow to the woman, "Where is he?"

She straightened her glasses and looked through some papers, "Ah, he'll be in interrogation room D-8, but he said you could just walk right in."

I nodded and started walking to the room, trying not to look too eager. When I found it, I knocked politely. It was almost immediately answered by Morino-san. He looked down at me and smiled sadistically, "Good, you're here. Come on in."

I followed him into the interrogation chamber, where there was only one spotlight hanging directly above the prisoner. I looked at him, "What do you want me to do?"

He smiled wider, "This type of interrogation has more to do with the human mind. Psychological."

I looked at the prisoner, who was struggling futilely from his bonds, "He is in a genjutsu?"

Morino-san nodded, "What we'll be doing, is pretending that you're not really supposed to be here. That you feel pity for him. Now, how's your acting?"

I shrugged noncommittally, "Moderate?"

He hummed, "Alright then, here are some tips; fidget a lot. Play with your fingers, wring your hands, wind your hair around your fingers. Relax your guard. Just…loosen your muscles. No one will attack you here. Imitate a normal girl."

I nodded, letting my shoulders drop down. It was a little hard, but slowly I managed to get the tension to slowly ease out. I thought about Ino and Sakura's body language, and tried using that. "I-Is this alright?" I put my voice at a slightly higher pitch,

Morino-san tapped his chin, "Make it quieter, but otherwise… its alright. Now, just widen your eyes. Don't blink, so your pupils will dilate and it'll look like you're much more innocent then you are. You're aiming for innocently creepy." I followed his instructions, making him grunt in approval, "Now, once you release the genjutsu, talk to him in a low calm voice. Reassure him, offer to help his chances of living, or lower his suffering. Like so… " he put on a low, fatherly voice, that really didn't suit him. He must do it only for demonstrations. "Is there anything I can do to help you? I know it must hurt. Do you have any family, any dependants? I'll help them for you. It doesn't have to be this way." He continued talking in his brisk manner, "Fidget to show nervousness, but try not to even look like you're reaching for a weapon. Don't break eye contact."

Even though I was severely confused by this impromptu demonstration for interrogation, I chose not to be confused by it. I just nodded. Morino-san nodded, and went outside to look through a one-way mirror. I gulped and slowly held myself in the new body language, which was a mish mash of Sakura, Ino and Hinata's varying traits. I moved forward, reminding myself to wring my hands every so often. I finally reached forward, and pumped just a little chakra into it. The man snapped out of the genjutsu abruptly. He was breathing heavily, and his heart rate was erratic. No doubt he had just experienced something incredibly disturbing. He looked at me with wide panicky eyes.

I needed to comfort him, put something child-like and vague. Get him to talk. I patted his arm, slowly so that he would get used to the touch, "It's alright. You're safe. You were stuck in a genjutsu, but I didn't want you to hurt. So I tried to break it." Short sentences, made me seem innocent. "I don't like it when people hurt. Can I make it better?"

The man looked confused, but he seemed regretful as I blabbered nonsensically at him, "No, kid. There's nothing. Do you wanna be a shinobi when you grow up?"

Ah yes, my starved appearance makes me appear quite a bit younger. I forget sometimes. I quickly hid my hands behind my back in a childish show of shyness, hiding the Konoha hitai-ate on the metal plating of my gloves. Better play along with it. "I don't like watching people hurt." I said, slowly hesitatingly. I timed my blinks to ten times per minute and refused to break eye contact. Kids were shy, hesitant, right? "I bet, if you talk now, they'd probably not let you suffer. They'd reward you with food, and good living arrangements… I bet this is rather scary for you. You don't deserve this. I'll ask Ibiki-san if there's anything we can make your stay better."

The man's eye gleamed desperately. He was sweating now, "Y-you could do that?"

I nodded, slowly sadly, refusing to look away. Keep my shoulders down, hands at the back, away from the weapon pouch. Keep Eye Contact, "But he probably won't listen to me, since you're not talking. I'm sorry."

He was extremely twitchy and was sweating really badly now, "Y-you keep on saying you're sorry. Why? What's it to you?"

My brain screeched to a halt. Improvise. I needed to improvise. Why was I sorry? Why was I sorry? "Ano… If you don't talk… Ibiki-san wants me to have my first kill with you!" Where had that come from? I wasn't sure, but I rolled with it, "And… and… I don't want to kill people. It makes me sad. But if you don't talk, I'll have to do it." I tilted my head, slowly. First step to interrogation, innocently creepy, I lost the high pitch, but my volume remained the same, and bones worked their way up to my forehead to make devil's horns, as I smiled insanely, "Don't make me rip out your heart."

The man LOST IT. He screamed, "Fine, fine! I'll talk! Make her stop looking at me. Take her away, PLEASE!"

Morino-san walked in, grinning sadistically, "Well done, Kimiko-chan! You're a natural-born actress!"

I looked at the prisoner, "What happened to him?"

He chuckled coldly, "Those eyes are what happened. They're too mature for the façade you put up, so unsettling that he had to break, especially after all the genjutsu and physical interrogation we did of him."

I nodded slowly, "I…see. Was this a test? I don't quite understand."

He grinned, "Well… you could say that. I was looking for good candidates for T&I in the first stage of the Exams, and your performance was exemplary. We decided to see if you seem like you're up to it, you could stick around. You could take this as your first lesson for your apprenticeship."

I nodded, "So all lessons will be like this?"

He nodded, "If you don't like it, you can leave now, or there's no going back."

I shrugged, "There was nothing incredibly difficult about it, so I'll stay."

He grinned, "Good to hear it. From now on, you can call me Ibiki-Shishou."

I hesitated, "Alright… Ibiki-Shishou, what happened to Kabuto?"

Ibiki-Shishou grinned grimly, "We're still working on him, but he's let slip some things."

The look in his eye tipped me off, "Like what?"

He took a breath, a steely look in his eye, "Like Suna and Oto planning an invasion during the Chuunin Exams' final stage."

* * *

The next month was insane. I trained constantly for my fight against Rock Lee and the coming invasion. We kept it quiet as a way to get the jump on the enemy. I started weight training, but it was more of a work in progress. I started meditating, working on my spiritual energy, and using whatever spare time I had on ninjutsu. I had a timetable. Wake up two hours before sunrise, grab breakfast, put on my red sleeveless shirt over a mesh vest and shinobi pants, and say good bye to Aoi, who was awake and ready to see me off no matter the hour for some reason. I would work out for quite some time, forgoing my bones and chakra and instead moving by only muscle power. I had perfected water walking on the first day, but still did it every day as a form of meditation to work on my Yin chakra reserves. On alternative days, I also practiced my Bone Dance katas on the water. Two hours of that and I went to the Inuzuka compound to find sparring partners. I had found out that Inuzuka were incredible at taijutsu, especially with their ninken partners; exactly what I needed if I wanted to hold my own against Rock Lee. Inuzuka Hana was my favorite sparring partner. With her three ninken and cool-headed personality, I found we meshed well together. Whenever my sparring partner decided to call quits or it struck noon– whichever came first, some Inuzuka could be VERY stubborn– I stopped by the home base to get the bentos Aoi had put on the table with my name on them. I would eat them at T&I while waiting for Morino-Shishou, watching him torture someone, listening to one of his lectures, or reading one of the scrolls I had taken to carrying all the time. Sometimes all at the same time. Once I got out of there, I would meet Haku and work on my target practicing. By this time the sun would've set and I would take a couple laps around the village before heading home to eat dinner and read more scrolls. On the weekends, I would still find time to have Kaito and Aoi run through hand signs or have them flare their chakra to see if they still retained what I taught them. Even if they were civilians, if what Kabuto revealed was to be believed, Konoha was to be invaded, and I had to make sure they lived through this.

Today, however, I had to mix up my schedule to match Morino-Shishou's. Since he was available early morning, I moved everything else down, which led to me doing my ninjutsu-water walking hybrid training exercise at ten o'clock. I passed some bathing women, who I politely ignored like any normal person, before I noticed a mass of spiky white hair. And a familiar beacon of fiery chakra just behind some bushes. I quickly did a Shunshin (It had been one of the first things I set my eyes on once I went on my jutsu-learning binge.) right behind the guy, using the whatever bones had worked their way into my hair to make them hover and sprouted demon horns and wings. "What are you doing, Naruto?" I asked, completely disregarding the old guy's yelp of surprise.

Naruto grinned, "Oh, hey, Kimiko! I'm learning the Kuchiyose no Jutsu! Ero-sennin is SUPPOSED to be teaching me, but he's not really much help."

I retracted my bones as I looked at the… Ero-sennin as he asked, "Hey, kid. Who's this?"

Naruto grinned as he tried to put an arm around my shoulder, which I immediately grabbed and twisted around, "Owowowow!" Naruto cried as I released him, "This is my teammate! Kaguya Kimiko! She sometimes acts like a robot and gets freaked out by fog, but she's really strong, dattebayo!"

I looked at him searchingly. Wrinkles, so definitely old. But well-worn muscles and weapon pouch and holster all pointed to shinobi. Shinobi didn't live for long unless they were paper-nin or just that strong. I'm willing to say its cause he's strong. Best guess? Second Shinobi war era. I turned to Naruto, "Are you aware your pervert of a teacher is peeping on women when he's meant to be teaching you?"

Naruto nodded, "Course I do! How dense do you think I am? Dattebayo?!"

I cast a critical eye again at the guy "And who're you?" I asked, coldly.

He grinned, "I am the Great Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku. The greatest of the Sannin! The incredible… Jiraiya!"

I blinked suspiciously, "YOU'RE Jiraiya-sama?" I clarified slowly, "Teacher of the great Yondaime Hokage-sama?"

Jiraiya grinned back, "The one and only! Why? Are you a fan of my books?"

I nodded slowly, "I found 'Inner Workings of the mind of a Shinobi' very interesting. The 'Two Sides of Kiri' I believe, was very well-crafted, but had a few inaccuracies that you would not have picked up if you did a simple deep-cover mission of less than three years to gather this information first hand. But my favourite has got to be 'The Lost Limits'. Very inspiring. Or 'Tactics of a Fine Ninja' that was a thrilling read."

Jiraiya drooped, "Oh, you only read those books. I should've known."

I blinked, "You write better books?"

Naruto jumped in, "He's talking about those stupid Icha Icha books Kakashi-sensei is always reading." Before looking at me, "Ne, Kimiko, what are you doing here anyway? Don't you have your apprenticeship at T&I?"

Jiraiya immediately looked up, "Her what!?"

Naruto grinned, "Kimiko got an apprenticeship with the head of T&I! He says she could probably be the Head in a few years!"

Jiraiya seemed to pale at that, but I answered Naruto's question instead, "My schedule was changed, that's why I'm doing chakra exercises right now." He nodded, and I looked at him, "I suppose you approached Jiraiya-sama for an apprenticeship on the Sealing Arts?"

Naruto blinked, "EH?!"

My eyes bulged, and I just shook my head exasperatedly, "Why're you with Konoha's only Seal Master, and not asking him about Fuinjutsu? You're an UZUMAKI. You're supposed to be interested in this shit."

Naruto looked even more confused, "I am?"

* * *

Jiraiya felt like slamming his head into a tree. This entire situation was just bizarre. He was teaching Minato's son– his _godson,_ Kami, that was weird to think about _–_ the Kuchiyose no Jutsu. Minato would've been so proud that his kid had the same summons as he did. Only for this black haired little she-devil– he stood by it, that girl's hair was _floating, and she had HORNS–_ to show up and start questioning him. No, seriously, how had these two been put on the same team he had no idea. Then when she had brought up his heritage, he had tensed. She knew Uzumakis and their proficiency for sealing. The fact that Naruto-kun himself didn't know this made it obvious this Kimiko-chan felt like slamming her head against something too. "So… you never mentioned you were good with seals." He managed to say, looking at Naruto-kun intently, "Care to share?"

Naruto-kun shrugged, "I dunno, I don't really have much experience. I don't get why everyone else thinks I'm amazing at them, -ttebayo."

Naruto-kun really wasn't one to be overly modest, and by the look on his face, he was clearly confused by it. Kimiko looked at him in something that looked like incredulity. He didn't know. He was using his reference for Uchiha emotions to get a read on this kid. He really needed to look into her background. "You managed to pick out the one barrier seal in that sea of storage seals." She said, her voice cracking slightly to show her frustration, "You were able to peel it off of Aoi's cabinets even though it needed her chakra to be peeled off. You figured out how to key everyone into that barrier seal from a vague memory of Aoi doing it and 'common sense'. That. Is. Not. Normal." She was all stiff, like she was about to punch him for his sheer density at being unable to recognize his own genius.

Jiraiya immediately zoned into the other person she had mentioned, "Hey, who's Aoi, your teammate? Does she want to be a Seal Mistress?"

Kimiko looked absolutely bewildered, "Er… no? She's my civilian friend but I've been training her to make sure she's not completely vulnerable. But she's got a constant supply of seals, said they are given to her by some friend of her… mother?" she seemed a little confused, caught flat-footed. Probably forgot wherever Aoi had got the seals, and was ashamed to admit it.

He nodded, "Right then. Kid, she's right, you know. That's not normal. You could have real promise in the Fuinjutsu Field. I'll teach you some, but after the exams."

Naruto grinned, "Wait, really?! Thanks, Ero-sennin."

One day, things took a sharp turn to intense. Haku came by again that night as I was stretching, dressed in a kimono, "I believe you're going on a run tonight, Senpai?"

I nodded, "You want to join?"

She shrugged, "I have been falling behind on my running."

I pulled on my forest green jacket over my mesh shirt and sleeveless red shirt and shinobi pants, before pulling on my gloves with the Konoha hitai-ate in the form of metal handguards on them, "Then lets go."

Haku nodded eagerly, "You really should be more startled by me suddenly appearing in your room, though, Kimiko-senpai."

I just shrugged, "If you were a threat then I you would be dead where you stand."

Haku hmmed, and we both exited through the window. The run was good. Refreshing. I sped along the walls, barely keeping up with Haku as I was weighed down by at least a hundred pounds. We were on a rooftop, when it happened. Sand tugged on my feet, slowing me down. I looked around, easily picking out the perpetrator from the normal night-time crowd. Teal, pupil-less eyes under red hair. Gaara.


	16. The Face off!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gaara attacks Kiyoko! Emotions! Training! Bonding! Also... bonding through training in torturing emotions!

I stared Gaara in the eye, “Are you supposed to be here, Gaara-san?”

Gaara didin’t answer, so I started exuding Killing Intent, “What do you want from me?”

He answered, “Mother needs your blood. I need your blood. To prove my existence. It’s gonna be a sacrifice that’ll soothe Mother for months!”

He laughed, and it fixed in my mind that he was unstable. I looked around, taking note of Haku right behind me. We exchanged messages from subtle twitches of eyes and hands, before Haku soundlessly left. Her dark clothes and hair helped her blend seamlessly in the night, and it seemed Gaara was too fixated on me to notice her. “Leave, Gaara-san.” I commanded, voice hard.

Red, pulsating chakra hit me like a brick wall, as Gaara chuckled darkly, “Your blood! Your blood! I need your blood to prove I’m alive!”

I readied myself for a fight, bones moving towards the outside of my body in the form of knives, ready to hit. I didn’t expect it to happen, and it happened so fast I couldn’t avoid. Sand was encasing me, rendering me immobile. Pushing and Pushing and Pushing. It was so dry, it felt like the moisture was being sucked right out of me. It hurt so much, I couldn’t bear it. I was gonna have to break. I couldn’t breathe, at all. Nothing. My eyes were screwed shut to guard against it, but the grains were rubbing them raw. I immediately switched all my bone reserves to Fossil Defense. It was as thick as I could make it, centered around essential organs, like the brain and my chest. Even a few millimeters of the only material that was stronger than diamonds were enough protection for my moving limbs. Nausea was taking over me, severe exhaustion. The pressure increased, but I managed to match it, holding my own. It was pressing and pressing. Tons upon Tons of sand, piling around me with ill intent, and I had to make it through alive! I still couldn’t breathe, but I managed to pull out lessons I had been given by Tayuya, Sound Five’s best at chakra control on how to breathe in clean air in unsuitable environments. I controlled my chakra to form a filter over my mouth, even sand had to have room for oxygen between its grains, and slowly, my vision became clearer. I was still pushing, fighting. My will had to be stronger. I had to make noise. Something, anything to alert nearby shinobi. I was out of options, I couldn’t use chakra since all my chakra was focused on letting me breathe and fluctuating it in code with mess up the concentration that I needed to keep the Fossil Defense going. Where was Haku?! I needed her! She had to go get help. I was getting tired. I needed water. All fluids were being sucked off by the sand. My muscles were worn out by the intense training that I had been doing for weeks now. I needed rest. The oppressive, painful chakra hitting against me like a staccato burnt like hell. I couldn’t die now. There were things I needed to live for. My debt to Konoha had to be repaid. I couldn’t leave my friends behind. Sasuke…Naruto…Kaito…Haku. They’d be crushed! Aoi would probably stoically march down into hell, find me, then drag my sorry ass back up. I couldn’t focus, I was getting numb. Circulation was cutting off in areas from the tight pressure. I knew, it had been barely twenty minutes, but I couldn’t be sure. Was it in an hour? A century? It was just me crouched down, fighting against a mass of sand, in my own little personal dimension. In that moment, nothing else existed. And I had time to think about things I never did otherwise. Aniki. The sacrifices he made for me. The person he helped me become. All my mistakes, my decisions. True, they were warped and twisted, and too haywire for me to actually count them as to things my brain had come up with. I wanted to give up. I couldn’t breathe properly anymore. The chakra filter was failing. Sand grains were blocking my nostrils. My bone were groaning… And I was snatched out of the sand, the sudden motion giving me vertigo. I slowly steadied myself, taking in the precious air. Air I would never again take as granted, and groaned. I looked a mess. I was breathing heavily, deep bruising, and scratches all over. I looked at my savior, and caught sight of tilted silver hair, “K-Kakashi-sensei.” I coughed out, some sand spitting out of my mouth.

Kakashi-sensei eye-smiled at me, but when he spoke, his voice was serious, “Haku-chan came to get me. You sit back, I’ll get you to the hospital.”

I shook my head to clear my thoughts, “What about Gaara?” I asked.

Kakashi-sensei looked grimly at the boy, and that was when I realized the number of Konoha ANBU surrounding him. I got up sharply, but the motion was too abrupt and my stiff and exhausted body fell in a dead faint…

* * *

I woke up in the hospital. Sasuke was staring at me with an unimpressed glare, “Hn. You should really stop landing yourself in here.” He said.

I stared stonily back, “You make it seem like I asked myself to be attacked by a Suna-nin.”

Sasuke scoffed, “You really weren’t able to stand up to him?”

I nodded, “Yeah. He had this super freaky chakra.” I nodded, "E had this insane chakra. Just freaky. It made it hard to focus on… anything really."

He seemed interested, "Really? So he's that tough?"

I nodded, "Worse, actually. It reminded me of…" I trailed off, was I allowed to say it out loud? Naruto had told me to keep my interests to myself and if Sasuke got interested, it would be harder to talk him down. 

He nudged me, "…Of?"

I just shook him off, "Nothing. It's nothing. I forgot."

He just shrugged and moved on, "Hn, you're lucky we were doing a supply run when Haku came up looking for help."

I nodded, "What did you with Gaara?"

He fidgeted, "I'm not really sure. You should ask Kakashi-Sensei about it. He's in a meeting with the Hokage right now." 

I changed the subject, “By the way, what are you doing here, anyways? You’re supposed to be training for the Chunin Exams.”

A nurse bent forward to set up a bed for me, and I sighed, as she slowly handed me chopsticks.

“Hn, when you’re in the hospital?” Sasuke grunted.

I had learnt to just let him be, but not this time. A promotion was on the line, “Yes. I’ll be fine. A few scratches and bruises-”

“And severe chakra exhaustion, dehydration, hypoxemia, stretched muscles and a concussion–” the nurse interjected, poking me harshly with a stern look on her face.

“and a concussion, but give it a week at most and I’ll be fine. You need to get back to training.”

Sasuke gave me a look that looked vaguely reproachful if you looked deep enough, “If you’re sure…” he allowed, before stalking out.

* * *

Kakashi was blending into the walls, guarding Kiyoko from any other attacks. He supposed one would call him paranoid, but during her stay after the Evil Sealing, she _had_ been nearly abducted, and a lot of her medical records had been nearly stolen. He had stopped the guys, but that didn’t stop them from trying again. By this point, it was getting ridiculous. He had to speak to Hokage-sama about giving her an ANBU squad to keep an eye on her at least while she was in-village. He heard the conversation she had with Sasuke, and he was mildly troubled. Had Naruto told Kiyoko about him being a jinchuuriki? Now that he thought about it, she had been avoiding him, or did they just never talk outside missions? No, she was definitely more outgoing than him. She was definitely avoiding the boy. This was bad. What if she turned against Naruto for what Gaara did? He had to make sure that never happened. Naruto relied on the girl _a lot._ Sensei’s son would be crushed! …And he was freaking out, wasn’t he? Okay, calm down, nothing overly bad would happen. He blended out of the wall, and into the hallway, casually walking into the room as soon as it was empty. “Hello, Kiyoko. How are you doing?” he asked, carefully.

She bowed her head, “Fine, I suppose. A little sore, like a particularly brutal training exercise, but no outward damage.”

Kakashi-sensei nodded, “Good. I heard your conversation with Sasuke, and I just want you to know, that, you shouldn’t compare Gaara to Naruto. They may be similar, but trust me, Naruto would never do that to you. Jinchūriki aren’t all like that boy.”

She blinked, slowly, before answering, “Naruto’s a jinchūriki?”

Kakashi felt his heart jump to his mouth, “Y-You didn’t know?!”

She shook her head. Kakashi felt like screaming. What the hell?! He had revealed an S-Rank secret by accident! This was an actual disaster. Kiyoko cast him a searching look, “That…explains a lot.” She finally said, “But now Naruto is gonna hate me, cause he wanted to tell me.”

That…was fairly neutral. “This, was a S-rank secret I just accidentally told you.” He managed to say.

Kiyoko looked amused when she asked, “An S-ranked secret that every fucking civilian and their mother knows?”

He just gave a weary sigh, “I thought Naruto told you.”

Kiyoko just shrugged, “Maybe fact-check next time?” she suggested so innocently, he felt like grinding his teeth.

“I’ll keep it in mind, next time.” He ground out, before swinging around and leaving through the window.

As he left, he heard her deadpan, “Is it that common that you truly believe there will be a next time?” Yeah, he had totally walked into that last one. His little genin was taking after him! Was he supposed to be irritated or glad?

* * *

I had no visitors for some time after that, but the absence of clocks left me unaware as to how much time had actually passed. Haku came in next, bobbing up and down nervously, “I should’ve been able to help you sooner, Senpai.”

I shook my head curtly, “It was no trouble, Haku. I was able to hold my own for long enough for you to get back up to the area.”

She laughed self-deprecatingly, “But it just proves I how much I need to improve. After Zabuza, you’re the only one left that’s important to me. I can’t lose you too. Not like this.”

I rolled my eyes, “If you’ll be like that, you might as well help me sneak out.”

She blinked, “Why? Aren’t you meant to be here?”

I narrowed my eyes, “It was your fault I ended up here to begin with, so… you might as well cover for me while I run some errands.”

Haku finally sighed, “Are you planning on training, Senpai? Because I really don’t feel comfortable with…”

I pulled up my –still mostly boneless –hair into a ponytail, “That’s not it. I need to clear things up with Naruto.”

Haku bit her lip, “Er, okay, Senpai, if you’re sure… I’ll just keep an Ice clone of you while you’re gone.”

I grinned, and I quickly got up, stretching my muscles slowly, “Thanks, Haku. Now we’re even.” I thanked her, before stepping out of the window and using chakra to stick to the walls. I jumped from building to building, sliding easily like a monkey in a forest, easily honing onto Naruto’s chakra when I moved closer to Ichiraku’s ramen.

True to form, I found Naruto digging into what might be his third large bowl of ramen, “Hey, Kiyoko!” he yelled out when he saw me, “What’re you doing here? Sasuke-teme said you were in the hospital!” he then tacked on, “I tried to visit you, but they said that you weren’t allowed visitors.”

I frowned, “Bullshit,” I observed, “Haku was allowed inside before I snuck out. But it’s alright. I actually wanted to talk to you, Naruto.”

Naruto looked confused, “Why?”

I cast a look around, “Not here. Let’s talk somewhere else.”

He bit his lip, “Uh, alright? Let me just…” he pulled out his frog wallet, and counted out the ryo he needed to pay back the ramen owner, before following me. I went slowly through the forest, looking for a good place for a conversation. “You can stop now.” He said, hesitantly, “No one’s around.”

I looked towards him, “How do you know?”

He just shrugged, “I just sorta do? I can feel this prickly presence around people…”

I continued to stare at him, “Naruto… are you a sensor?”

He blinked, “What’s that?”

I sighed, “It’s when you can naturally sense other people’s chakra. It’s a useful skill to have but few people are born with that ability.”

Naruto brightened, “Really?! I’m that awesome?!”

I looked stonily at him, “It’s got more to do with your genealogy than your…awesomeness level.”

He rubbed his neck, “I knew that! …Anyways, what did you want to talk about?”

Right, I needed to put this new revelation aside for now. “You know how I ended up in the hospital, right?”

Naruto nodded, “Kakashi-sensei said you were ambushed by Gaara.”

I nodded, “The thing is, his chakra when he attacked me kind of reminded me when you got this boost in the Forest of Death.”

He start sweating but I stubbornly continued, “Well, I thought it had something to do with your secret, so I didn’t mention it to Sasuke. But Kakashi-sensei thought I was now terrified of you because of your secret, which he thought I knew and…”

Naruto was blinking rapidly, “Can you PLEASE get to the point?” he begged.

I fingered my clan brand, “Ano, I guess what I’m saying is that I know you’re the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi.” He froze, and I quickly tacked on, “But Kakashi-sensei was the one who accidentally told me. And I really won’t judge you for it.”

Naruto blinked, “Y-You won’t?”

His voice was so broken, his face lacking that false exuberance, “I won’t.” I reassured him, “I literally am a walking skeleton. You’ve been protecting Konoha from the Kyuubi since you were born. If anything, that makes you really brave. And much stronger than anyone I’ve ever known.”

I was immediately tackled by Naruto in a bear hug. I felt a moistness on my shoulder, “Thanks! Thank you so, so much! Dattebayo!” he sobbed. Why was he crying?

I slowly returned his hug cautiously, “It’s alright. I mean it. I got your back.”

He slowly got up, wiping his eyes, “Thanks. I mean it –ttebayo. Gah, you must think I’m a crybaby now…”

I shook my head, “Its alright. I honestly don’t care. I don’t judge the ones close to me.”

He gave me a watery smile, “T-Thanks. I don’t know why you think so much of me…”

I deadpanned, “Besides you being able to master an A-ranked kinjutsu in one night, an absolute chakra beast, one of the last living Uzumaki, a damn good sensor, and one of the only rookies to make it to the Chuunin Exams’ final stage.”

Naruto grinned as he scratched his cheek, “Guess I am pretty awesome, aren’t I? –ttebayo?”

I looked at him testily, “Not with that overconfidence, but I suppose you can work on it later.”

He pouted, “Gah, fine.”

I patted his shoulder, “Keep at it, Naruto. Now, I gotta go back before the hospital staff notice I’m gone.”

He smirked, “Haku’s covering for you, isn’t she?”

I shrugged, giving him a non-answer, before dashing away.

I reached the hospital out of breath and ridiculously sore, even though I was used to even more grueling paces. Guess the Sand Funeral took more out of me than I thought. Haku just saw me, nodded and dispelled her clone before wordlessly leaving. I just cuddled in the blankets and meditated. Ever since I had accidentally got into my mindscape, I had been trying to replicate it. I calmed myself down, keeping my breathing even, erasing my chakra signature completely like I had been taught by Kazuyuki-sama, the Kaguya clan patriarch and the only one who would dare approach Shikotsumyako users. It was a lesson I had not forgotten since it had been essential for my survival, as Tayuya and Zabuza had drummed into me. If an enemy can find you, you’re fucked. Usually, I just shrank down my reserves, to make me appear like I have lower chakra, and fluctuated it a little to make me seem more emotionally vulnerable like Ibiki-Shishou suggested. I closed my eyes, and when I opened them again, I found myself once more, in the twisted prison of my mind. I moved around the mindscape, looking at old lost memories. I relived past training sessions, practiced kata, sorted out the moves. As much as I hated to admit it, Kidomaru, Sakon and Ukon were terrifyingly good teachers. I found new ideas for techniques as I revisited Kimimaro’s sparring sessions. It was a productive few hours. I found out about old jailmates I had forgotten about. About old stories and training techniques I used to spend the time with. Even my first kill. That was how I found myself in front of a padlocked door, with a warning sign on it. Through the cracks of the boards, mist leaked out, and the sounds of screeching agony from the nearby recollections of torture sessions, it was clear what this was. The Battle of Silence. My most traumatic memory. It was a black spot on my record as a shinobi. How was I supposed to be a good ninja if my first experiences with war was too disturbing to even look at? I closed my eyes, and took a deep breath. If what my classes in T&I were saying were true, then Konoha was set to be invaded in two weeks, and I had to get my shit together before that time. It was time to stop pushing away the training and the skills I had kept locked away after the Battle of Silence and use them to my advantage. I reopened my eyes with conviction and pressed my hand on the padlock, bypassing all the barricades and stepping into the memory.

* * *

_Quiet. It was so mind-numbingly quiet. The mist was so thick, it actively muted out the sound. I couldn’t see five feet ahead of me. Sometimes, I would hear the slight throbbing pulse of a hundred assassins running in formation, silent as the night. Figures dashed around me, too tall for me to get a good glimpse of them. I was silent, moving between the puddles left behind by Suiton techniques, and fallen corpses at a lightning-quick speed. I stabbed and slashed, aiming for the legs or groin of anyone who I encountered, before finishing them. Sometimes I found fighters who were screaming battle cries in the silence, and just quietly avoided them. No one except my clan members would scream in a battle where the opponents were trying to catch the others by surprise. My hair was sticking out like needles, and I was covered in blood. Literally bathed in it. I had killed so many people, heard so many quiet sobs for mercy. I had destroyed the hopes and dreams of nearly a hundred people. The feeling of blood, oozing off of my arms and legs, and not a single drop of it being mine. I felt unclean, raw. I had been playing God, then. Deciding who get’s to play Kami. It was just a dance, to me, at that time. Spin, twirl, flourish your wrists, click your feet, swing your arms, slit a throat. Dodge with a bow, Deflect by twisting your shoulder and striking a pose. Jazz hands? Killed ten people with one extreme hit. So much deadly precision, a display of skills I had forgotten I had. Everything I had refused to acknowledge I could and have done. Just to try and convince myself that I was a good person. One that deserved the company of people like Sasuke, and Naruto, who had seen so little as to what the ninja world was all about. I had to protect those two, even if I knew it was futile. I had to give it my best shot. They wouldn’t be tainted. Not yet. I had to protect them in the coming invasion._

* * *

I woke up, feeling completely refreshed. My mind was humming with ideas and decisions, and I flung myself into training as soon as I was released. I spent the next week continuously training without stopping. I didn’t stop training until I was exhausted. I worked like a girl possessed. I trained and I trained and I trained, because I was given the power, the tools, to destroy my enemies, and I would do it. To repay my debt to Konoha. That was how it was, three hours of sleep and ration bars kept me going. I needed to protect Naruto and Sasuke. I needed to prove to Aniki that I was strong enough to be someone he could stand by. I needed this. There was no time for investigations. No time for personal matters. Konoha needed me. My friends would need me. I only snapped out of it a day before the Exams, when Naruto ran into one of my training sessions, looking visibly depressed. I cast him a glance before continuing to practice my Water Dragon jutsu. He groaned when I managed to form the full dragon and sending it barreling into the ground. “It’s so unfair! You’re getting so much better and here I am just sitting pathetically, dattebayo!” He whined.

I looked at him, “Didn’t you get the Kuchiyose no Jutsu?”

He nodded, “Well, I did, but… Ero sennin said that there’s nothing else he can teach me that I’ll be able to use in time for the Exams!”

I narrowed my eyes. Was Jiraiya-sama not aware of the invasion? “How did it go, anyways?” I asked, “Were you able to call upon the Boss Summons?”

He nodded, “Yeah, but only after he threw me into a chasm –ttebayo!”

My eyes widened, “He what?”

Naruto nodded and continued to bitch, “Yeah, it’s because when I’m in danger of dying, the Kyuubi naturally tries to keep me safe, cause when I die, he dies –ttebayo!”

My breath hitched, “You…talked to the Kyūbi no Yoko? How was it?”

He grinned bitterly, “Real asshole, that guy. Threatened to kill me himself and whatnot. Such a bastard. Screaming about jailers and tormentors and all that shit.”

I nodded, “That… actually reminds me of one of my fellow Shikotsumyako users from the Kaguya clan.”

He looked up, “It does?”

I hummed, setting myself down, letting myself relax as much as I could without being open to attack, “Yes, this boy named Kubo. His mother was from our sister clan, the Kaiju clan. They were known for their odd impulses and bipolar behavior. He was the eldest at the time to have the Shikotsumyako, at twelve years of age. He fought for the Kaguya in the Third World War, and they thanked him by shoving him in a cage. Because of what he was. Because of what he could do.”

Naruto blinked, “That sounds…awful.”

I nodded hesitantly, unsure why I was telling him this, “He used to scream all day and night, slamming at the bars and the walls beside me. Screaming about the unfairness of it all.” The sealed mark on me seemed to burn when I said that, as if reminding me what it contained. “I was five years old then. I didn’t understand. Sometimes, he’d calm down. When I asked him to. He liked to play little games with me. And I found out he wasn’t a bad person. Not really. He was forced to become one.”

Naruto bit his lip, “What-what happened to him?”

I looked up at the sky, letting all the tension seep out of me unwillingly. I couldn’t keep on going like this. I would burn out before the fight began, “He was killed. They made me do it. To show me that ‘the world wasn’t worth living in’.”

His eyes widened, but he stayed silent. And that was good. “Thank you, Naruto.” I said.

He looked at me, “What for, dattebayo?”

I shrugged to show my uncertainty, “For staying with me. I know you wanted to tell me about the Kyūbi. I needed something to ground me right now, I was letting my emotions get the best of me.”

He grinned at me, “No problem. But maybe you should redirect some of your emotions somewhere else? I always feel better when I blow something up or prank someone.”

I nodded dumbly, thinking of the Suna-Oto invasion. This was getting ridiculous. Shit needed to be done.


	17. The Finals

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, another chapter. A little late, but I kind of forgot to update. Sorry! Apparently, no one in my entire country is accepting how important social distancing is, so I'm begging you all... Stay home, stay safe, and be grateful to all those essential workers out there.

The next day, I woke up with grim determination. Every little bit of bone I had was stuffed into either my body, or my weapons pouches, so I had three times the amount of bones an ordinary adult had without counting the bones in my hair, the bones I could effortlessly generate, and the bones I made from chakra. I stocked myself up on anything I thought would come in handy, from soldier pills to smoke bombs, to receivers and communicators, and emergency whistles. For me, this wasn’t about the promotion. This was war. I went to the kitchen, where Aoi was quietly setting miso soup on the kitchen. Even she, as a civilian, could feel the tension. “Do you remember the drills?” I asked.

She nodded at me, “Yep! In case anything goes wrong, I should go into the nearest safe house, which will be in the Hokage Monument, over the Fourth Hokage’s ear!”

I ruffled her hair, not being able to summon up a smile of any sort. I just didn’t know how Naruto could keep up that mask, even when surrounded by people he could trust with his life. “The tree-walking exercises I showed you and tried to get you to practice with should be able to get you there fast. Do you remember?”

She nodded again, “Don’t worry! It’ll be okay, baka!”

I deadpanned her, “Sometimes I forget you’re just eleven years old.”

She laughed loudly, cheerfully. “But in case, it’ll be alright, I’ll be in the stands. Cheering you on, kay?”

I nodded, before jumping out of the window. Heading for the battlefield, with a hundred and fifty pound weights on my feet.

I stood in the stadium, surveying the area. There was wide open terrain, with a few trees, and even a lake for Suiton users. Good for many many techniques. I was relatively early, but Gaara was already present, as were Lee and Neji. Very few civilians were up in the stands right now, the crowd composed of shinobi discreetly preparing for the invasion and feudal lords and the like. I was sitting there, meditating, when I felt a disturbance in my head. I frowned and entered my mindscape, only to find myself in front of the same door that had led out of the cell relegated to my curse mark. I raised an eyebrow. Was the seal unravelling? That …would be incredibly inconvenient. I looked around to see where else the disturbance could be coming from, but without result, and with a deep breath, I opened the door to the curse mark. I found the fountain with gushing water chained off and the colorful liquid it was spewing now had slowed down a little. The line between me and Sasuke’s mindscapes, though, was separated with a curtain. Easily movable if need be, but otherwise shielding us from each other’s thoughts. That was where the disturbance was coming from. I looked at the bouncing curtain uncertainly, before thinking, ‘well, what the hell?’ and opening the curtain. There was nothing there, but a voice did reach my ears, “Gah! Stupid Kakashi-sensei! We’re gonna be late, and he wants us to work on this jutsu?!”

Without thinking, I said, “You’re gonna be late?!”

Causing the Sasuke-voice to scream like a high-pitched girl. When he recomposed himself, he said was, “Not this again!”

I sighed, “Don’t be an idiot. Only the thoughts you want to telepathically share with me will I be able to hear.”

He seemed to be happy when replied, “Hn, that’s good.”

I replied, “We’ll have to work on developing this later. Now, what do you mean by you’re going to be late?”

He grunted, “Hn, Kakashi-sensei says that we won’t turn up to the Exams until I get the Chidori down.”

I had heard of the Chidori. Kakashi-sensei’s original lightning style jutsu. Only one who possessed the Sharingan would ever be able to use it in combat.

Considering he was up against Gaara, maybe it was a good idea to make sure he gets it down, “Better get down to it, then.” I simply replied, “Don’t let me keep you.” With that, I snapped out of my mindscape. The seats were filling up now, slowly but surely. I could feel Aoi’s small chakra signature not far off, but I couldn’t spot her. Kiba had shown up, along with Akamaru, as had Shikamaru, even though it appeared as though he had been dragged over here by Ino, which might actually be the case.

Naruto still hadn’t shown up yet, but the proctor had deigned to show himself. It wasn’t Gekko Hayate. No, I’m certain he was killed by one of Orochimaru’s cronies. It was another guy, one who I identified as Shiranui Genma. I approached him, before speaking lowly, “Why is Gaara here?”

The guy blinked, before his eyes widened, “Oh, shit. You’re the kid he attacked?! No one told me Hatake had a whelp!”

I frowned slightly, deciphering his words, “Kakashi-sensei isn’t my father. I have black hair. But the bones in my hair make it appear grey or, as it is right now, white.”

He drooped, “Man, I was looking forward to teasing him about it!” he joked, “But to answer the question; we contacted the Kazekage. Seeing as the boy is his son, we couldn’t really arrest him. But, we were able to pinpoint the reason behind his instability, and have received permission to get Jiraiya to fix it.”

I nodded, “Though you realize we may not have until then, do you?” discreetly reminding him about the possibility of an invasion.

He gave an almost imperceptible jerk of his head, “It’ll be fine kid. We got this. You’ll be fine.” That last bit was said in a light tone that was slightly louder than the other words exchanged. I was about to respond when a hoard of bulls and Naruto’s shadow clones burst through the door. I just sighed at the ensuing scuffle until things got sorted out.

The first round was Naruto versus Neji. I am certain everyone is aware of what happened in this round. Hinata was injured by Neji in the preliminaries. Naruto promised to avenge her. He did. Yadda Yadda. Blame lazy-ass Ibis.

The next round was me against Lee, who immediately jumped down from the balcony when he heard his name. I sighed and did a Shunshin down. There was tense silence in the air as we stood, sizing each other up. I slowly removed my green jacket and threw it to the side, and deadpanned, “The jacket is innocent. Do not damage it.”

Lee saluted, “I Will Try My Best! Beautiful Blossom KIMIKO!”

Everyone sweat dropped, but I took it in stride. Then, Shiranui-san brought his hand down, “Begin!”

Lee moved instantly. Before I could blink, he was upon me, about to land a direct hit on my chest. I immediately plunged all my bones out, doing a pirouette with the heel of my right leg sticking out, about to slice Lee. He retreated backwards, before continuing his assault. I spun and waved my arms, shimmying my shoulders and moving backwards and forwards in a rapid pace, somehow blocking every one of his attacks. He attacked me again, and I sent a volley of bones underground to attack from below. He was on the offense, hitting with fast and painful jabs. I put my fisted arms in a cross to block a kick, before deflecting a punch with open arms, and diverting an incoming kick by twisting his leg around mine and forcing him away from me by extending spikes from my femur. I eyed the lake, before retracting all the spikes that Lee was dealing with, and covering myself with a dome of bone that was at least an inch thick. He started pounding at it with increased ferocity, but my dome held, as was expected. I wove the signs, molded my chakra, and whispered to no one in particular, “Suiton: Water Dragon Jutsu!”

The rush of water and the following scream ascertained that I had hit my target. I let the bones melt back into my body, and attack Lee. The boy met me head-on, looking rather worse for wear. He attacked my arms, aiming for my upper body. I wove around it, holding my body loose and flexible. I diverted his best attacks with punches and whirlwind twirls. This was dragging on for too long. I focused all my chakra into my bones and released it through my fist in my next attack. He grunted as he took the brunt of that attack, “A Most Youthful Attack!” he yelled, “As Expected of the Best Taijutsu Style User of All Time!”

I unsheathed my humerus and ulna from my arm in the Camelia Dance, before engaging with him again. I spun around low, trying to trip him, blocking any attacks from him in my rhythmic style. One step forward, elbow-check the opponent, spin around with spikes turned outward, two steps back, bait him in, high kick, deflect with open hands, spin, one step forward. Digital shrapnel. A dance played out between us, with me in the defense and him playing offense. It took a while, but Rock Lee was slowly tiring. I wasn’t tired at all. I used a stamina-based technique, made for lasting through long and weary battles, while Lee’s was designed for finishing things quickly. I had to turn the tables, and fast. I dropped my weights, and any excess bones I was carrying was siphoned into the ground, which then sprang up as spikes, battling the boy. I put my hands up in a single seal, “Ninpo: Kirigakure no Jutsu!” thick fog engulfed the area, obscuring his vision. I stuck hard and fast. No killing blows, but concussive force could go a long way. I finally readied myself for my final stand. Fast quick jabs. He seamlessly countered, despite the mist, but this was my forte. I made Water Clones to confuse and discombombulate. Hitting the appendages, going for the head in quick painful strokes. It was truly a dance to the death. Speed and gracefulness. Strict discipline. That was what I needed. Eventually, I spotted my opening, I swung my clavicle like a boomerang, wrapping it around his eyes, and effectively blinding him. It was just as well, seeing as the mist was evaporating and I needed to keep my chakra reserves full for the incoming catastrophe, so making more was out. “A Most Underhanded Tactic, Young Kimiko!” Lee declared, “I Do Not Believe it is Very Youthful of You to Use Such A Technique, But I Do Not Wish To Offend a Mistress of Taijutsu Such As You!”

I channeled bones deep into the ground, tunneling around him, until they snapped out around him like the jaws of a beast. He must have heard the incoming attack, because he quickly twirled and danced, a little slower than before, now that he was relying only on sound and scent. I was able to corner him easily and bound him up with the bones, “We’re shinobi.” I told him tersely, “You either cheat, or you die.” Before I hitting him in the jaw and knocking him unconscious. The crowd cheered and whispered. The proctor, Shiranui-san came close and checked his heart rate, “Winner: Kaguya Kimiko!” he announced. I bowed to Lee then picked up the unconscious boy and carried him up the wall with me by wall-walking. "Here, Gai-Sensei." I said, as I lowered the Bowl-cut boy into a seat. Gai-Sensei nodded at me quietly adding in, "That was Excellent Work, Kimiko-chan! Lee Would Do Well by Learning from a Taijutsu Prodigy Like You.” I inclined my head just a little before moving closer to see the next match. I bit my lip as Shiranui-san started calling for Sasuke to show up. Where was he?! There was some quiet discussion, until Shiranui-san announced, "We're gonna wait five minutes for Uchiha Sasuke to show up. If he doesn't appear he'll be disqualified and Gaara will get a free pass."

A lot of civilians complained but there really was nothing they could do. I sighed and moved down to join Naruto in the viewing deck reserved for the participants. As I walked down the stairs, I was cornered by a group of civilians, “Hey!” One of them yelled, “It’s the skeleton brat! The demon fox’s friend.”

I looked at them icily, “Don’t defame Naruto like that.”

One of the others pointed me in the chest, it didn’t hurt, but it looked like he had meant it to, “You just cost me a shit ton of money, you damn brat!”

I looked at him emotionlessly, “Then you’re just unlucky. I would advise you to not bet against the shonobi who come from a clan renowned to have better taijutsu than the Hyuga clan.”

The guy growled, “Don’t be a smart-ass, kid! You don’t belong! You’re going to stab Konoha in the back one day! A monster like you will always yearn for bloodshed.”

I quirked a brow. Come on, all my experience with Kaito’s smart-ass friends has to yield a reward. I played it cool. Like Ibiki-shishou taught me, “Yearn?” I finally said, emotionlessly, “Who uses yearn anymore?” Judging by their stunned expressions as I continued on my path, I hit the nail on the head. Damn civilians. Douches the lot of them. I walked down to the competitor box, and Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei were in the middle of the field. Naruto was heading to the viewing box via the stairs, but Kakashi-sensei made his way up with a Shunshin, giving me a meaningful look and subtly signing in ANBU code, **Slight delay. Apologies. Preparations.**

I replied with, **Understood. Message relayed beforehand.**

His facial muscles betrayed his surprise when he signed, **How?**

 **Mental Link.** I explained. Not elaborating, but it appeared he had understood.

The match started. Sasuke started it off with a bang. Disappearing immediately, his speed had increased. It was nearly on par with Lee. The sand still deflected each and every attack. It did nothing. Finally, he stepped back to attack from another angle. He lit up his fully matured three-tomoe Sharingan and stuck out his hand, channeling lightning chakra into it. The palm full of plasma lit up the stadium making it hard to see, and a chirping cacophony sounded, almost drowning Sasuke out when he yelled. “Chidori!”

This time, the aim was true. The attack aimed for his heart, I could tell. But as Sasuke blurred forward, Gaara pulled up a hardened sand dome around himself. But Sasuke was too fast. His hand managed to slip inside. And the Chidori made contact with Gaara. A scream echoed through the stadium, and it grew deadly silent. Sasuke tugged frantically, trying to get his hand free. He fired up his Chidori again, and tugged his hand out. Around his arm, a huge sandy appendage was holding him in a vice-like grip. Every shinobi tensed. Readied. Screams echoed through the whole arena. Feathers suddenly started whirling around but I dispelled the genjutsu in seconds. Things escalated quickly, suddenly enemy-nin sprung out from their civilian disguises. Jonin and ANBU leapt into action. Gaara and his siblings escaped quickly, with Sasuke on their heels. I immediately ducked behind a wall, shooting an enemy ninja with a chakra powered distal phalange. I flared my chakra, and Haku appeared behind me near instantaneously in response. “Are you okay, Senpai?” he asked, looking around.

I nodded briskly, “Yeah. Come on, Konoha needs us. Where are Aoi and Kaito?”

He pulled out his senbon, already molding his chakra for the incoming jutsu. “Aoi had gone to the bathroom some time before it happened. I can’t locate her, but Kaito’s with us.”

I jerked my head, “Then let’s kick some ass. Like the bad old days.”

Haku exhaled sharply in an almost laugh, “Alright then.”

We jumped into the fray, literally, Haku immediately providing us with the high ground by raising a ledge. Blood sprayed everywhere, I charged forward, closing the distance between our opponents, making them flinching backwards. I bowed sharply, avoiding a shuriken to the the throat, before snapping up and using the moment to flip over the guy, turning him into a pincushion. Killing him instantly. I didn’t need to turn to know that Haku was right behind me, covering my flank. I pinpointed enemies quickly, and pulled off my jacket. RIP, my old friend. I walked forward, before moonwalking backwards. The Bone Dance was best used for the odd jerky movements of this dance style. I put a foot forwards, immediately twisting around. I tapped my feet in a rapid frenzy as I spun. I shimmied my shoulders, flourishing my hands and holding my arms in a T-pose. I was simply focused on getting through this crowd. Harming no one except the enemy. I ran over the seats and fallen civilians light-footedly. One step forward, two steps back, arms held up high as I cartwheeled and ducked. Head held low, avoiding flying weaponry, ignoring the blood. Feeling at home. This was right. I weaved left and right, tripping up enemies and lunging wildly if anyone tried to sneak up on me. I bobbed my head in time to the random rhythm I had come up with. I moved towards the left, turning and twisting. My hair struck out someone attempting to come at Haku from his blind spot. We worked together seamlessly. I swung my hips to the rhythm, turning towards the right, avoiding the senbon sent towards an enemy barely. I swung my fists sideways to catch a passing shuriken, before swinging them back around to shoot a bone at the Oto-nin who shot it. I jumped to avoid a Suna shinobi who was tumbling after a particular viscious attack on Haku’s part. I leant forward, quietly taking stock of my surroundings, my head held down, and my bangs shadowing my eyes. Shinobi fighting left and right. I noted Haku’s position. All surrounding allies were taken in account. Someone was heading towards me fast. I twitched my hand. My neck cricked. I suddenly appeared beside him, and grabbed his wrist, flinging him over me, and using the counterweight to fling myself to the ceiling, where I rebounded hard using chakra and landed on the floor, sending chakra around the place, blinding any surrounding sensors and knocking the people around off-blance. It was all Haku need to skewer all hostiles. I ducked immediately sticking my hands to the right to shoot an approaching enemy. We ran off with barely a nod while the Konoha ninja gathered themselves and dashed off. We were on a roll. I chewed a chakra pill and was off again. We zipped through the area, killing hostiles preoccupied with other fights. I swung my arms and hips as I moonwalked. Bones zipping around at lightning quick speeds. I worked through the crowds, until I fell upon Kakashi-sensei and the others. The fighting had diminished incredibly. Haku was breathing heavily, and my muscles were aching. Kakashi-sensei looked unruffled, except his unnatural uptightness. Gai-sensei was with him, as was Lee, who seemed to have recovered from the blow I had given him. “Youthful Kimiko!” he yelled when he saw me, “What Happened to You?!”

Kakashi-sensei appeared right next to me, “What happened?! Where are you injured?” The panic was evident in his voice.

I blinked, “What?”

Haku coughed awkwardly, “Ano… Kimiko-Senpai… you’re covered in blood.”

I looked at my clothes and arms, which were indeed caked in drying blood, “Oh, yeah. No injuries. Drawbacks to my Taijutsu style.”

Kakashi-sensei sighed in relief, “Good.”

I scanned the place, looking between the skirmishes, spotting a familiar bright orange ponytail, “Kaito. Are you okay?” I asked, crouching down with him.

He gulped, his chocolate eyes wide, “N-no. If it hadn’t been for your lessons in genjutsu dispelling I would’ve nearly died.”

I nodded, “Yeah, that’s why I taught you that shit. C’mon, let’s get you outta here…”

I offered my hand to him, but he recoiled, staring at blood soaked hands. “I-I can’t just stand by, w-when you’re risking my life for me!” he cried, “I-It isn’t right!”

I swung up from our little safe haven, rushing forward and delivering a swift jab to an attacker’s neck, making him collapse, dead, before crouching back down, “That’s what shinobi are meant to do.” I said, trying to follow the way he used to hold himself, calm and comforting. “Protecting those who aren’t strong enough to do it themselves.”

He sobbed harder if anything. “T-that’s not it! I’m not weak! I’m not weak at all!”

I put his arm around my neck, “C’mon, don’t be a pussy, let’s get out of the active battle zone, ne?” I turned to Kakashi-sensei, “I’ll take him to a bunker, and start fighting on the outside.”

He nodded, “Right, we’ll finish things up here.”

He was shivering from the trauma, crying. His utter uselessness on his part slowed me down, but Haku had my back, pulling up walls and spikes of ice to shield us from the onslaught while he killed them one by one with cut-throat efficiency. We made it out into the village, my bones supporting us as I waltzed us outta there, my one-handed swooping strikes not half as damaging as the original style. Kaito was flecked with blood, and his eyes had shrunk into near pinpricks. But he managed to stumble along a little, his legs possibly incredibly bruised from all the shockwaves he had experienced. Haku was covering our flank to the best of his abilities but he was an assassin, trained for stealth and quick combat. Not constant long-drawn brawls. He was running out of chakra and fast. He finally stumbled, when a Dolton slammed up, throwing him away with a force that sent him flying into a wall, dazed. I gritted my teeth, dashing forward, to help him up. Kaito had mostly calmed down, but the panicked look in his eyes had yet to subside. I let him go, taking my stance, allowing him to quickly check up on Haku.

I extended my bones, falling into the comfortable form, head held low, knees apart and slightly bent while my arms rested at my sides, hands pointed outwards. The person responsible dashed forward, throwing a kunai rigged with a paper bomb at me. I weaved signs at breakneck speeds, “Suiton: Water Wall jutsu!”

As soon as it went up, I flashed forward, engaging him in combat. He was good. I feinted to the right, tapping my feet in a furious rhythm as we fought. I fought alternating between quick jabs and long swooping strikes. I gave him a high kick as he got in close, aiming for his crotch. I dodged a blow and slid backwards, matching him in speed. He weaved through sign and stone started spitting out at me. I winced and started dodging for my help. I twisted around, stepping back, but I activated a paper tag, and nearly blown to high heaven. I moonwalked through the literal minefield, keeping an eye on where everyone was, and let a Water Dragon loose. I grimaced as the Water Dragon set off even more paper tags, sliding on my knees through the wreckage. Straight to an abandoned sword. I grabbed it, and yanked it out of the ground as the force stopped me. I flourished with my hands, putting my arms far away from my body, nodding and tilting my head as I avoided shrapnel. More ninja were making their way here. Most of them weren’t allies. I grimaced as I battled it out, pulling out all the stops, cornered by puppets. I systematically aimed for their joints, taking them apart quickly. I barely acknowledged when Haku started shooting senbon, locking them up. I channeled bones into the ground, making them spike out into the air, skewering the puppets with accuracy. I channeled chakra into my feet to fling me up into the air and gain the speed to get a head shot with the Suna-nin. I panted heavily as I span blocking all attacks, keeping my defenses up, as they kept on coming. Finally, the cutting edge of a Futon struck into me, throwing me back. I coughed as I got up, shielding Kaito and Haku. I felt my heart constrict as the barrage of paper bombs made their way to me like guided missiles, I groaned, retracting all the bones on the battlefield, coating it around the dome around Haku and Kaito. They weren’t gonna die today. I bent forward, quickly chomping down on a chakra pill and darting through the signs, pouring everything into it, “Suiton: Water Wall!”

It held up high, and I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding. I dashed forward through the steam and rushing water. I struck hard, fast, all kill points, dodge or block blows, catch and throw back any flying weapons. I dashed through the place, flaring my chakra frantically, looking for help, I knocked back any offenders. I managed to close the difference between and twisted my waist to apply and back away from the wind jutsu ninja were releasing. I was severely weakened, but it was still within my capacity to force these guys into backing away. I wasn’t gonna fail this time. No way.


	18. Invasion... finally.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kimiko is fighting. Lots of confusing this are going down. To fill any holes, just watch the anime, since it seems I'm a clichèd writer who has no original ideas.

Not a whole lot of ninja cared about a young kid, but enough to give me a challenge kept on coming. I moved at a rapid pace, moving in a wicked dance. I shot a few Water jutsu but stuck mainly to taijutsu. I didn’t let the bone dome weaken. I couldn’t risk it. Not until the end. The guys were closing in. So many of them. It was kinda scary. I slowly allowed myself to take some bones from the dome, using them to form a backup spine for myself while I grabbed hold of my own, and whipped it out like a barbed battle whip, my eyes flashing. I swung it around, hearing it slam into walls, and leaving jagged gashes all over the walls. They stepped backwards, reassessing the situation, having a signed conversation which I barely understood, but I caught one word. “Alive.” They needed me alive! They were gonna capture me, use my kekkei genkai. I immediately popped a purple pill into my mouth. Suicide pill, just in case. I had been trained as to how to use these things. The effects of the chakra pill were draining and I couldn’t risk using another. I retreated to the bone dome, letting the bones seep into me. I turned to Kaito who had recovered somewhat, now only looking disgusted, and vaguely pale. Haku looked really pale, he seemed to have a head wound, but otherwise alright. So I guessed it was a concussion. I looked at them, “Run. No questions. Just run.” I commanded.

Kaito glared, “No way. That’s bullshit. You can’t expect me to leave you alone, you’ll die.”

The Oto-nin cackled, “Listen to the boy, Kaguya bitch! We outnumber you!”

I glared at him, making sure the suicide didn’t accidently get bitten when I said, “I don’t care. Get outta here, bastard.”

I let a flat panel of bone seep out of my bones, having it latch onto the two’s feet. It started floating as fast as I could allow my chakra control to. As soon as it got out of sight, I stared down the five shinobi, “Come at me, bastards.”

They grinned, and one of them held up a small wax ball, and before I could even blink, I was being blinded by a flash bang that burnt my eyes. I fought blind, blocking any close attacks judging off of sound like had done for hours a long time ago in Kiri. When the spots got out of my eyes, I realized why the enemy had backed away. I was surrounded by a huge amount of explosive kunai. All heading towards me and I would never be able to dodge. I closed my eyes, curling up into a fetal position to increase my chances of survival, I slid my real spine back into my body, my suicide pill clenched between my teeth, ready to kill myself if the closest ones to me when I got out of here would be the invaders. I shut my eyes as I heard a muffled sound, “Kuchiyose no Jutsu!” I was surrounded by heat and I was certain I was about to die. When the heat died away and yet I hadn’t been harmed, I uncurled myself, looking around. The sight made my do a double take. Kaito was standing in front of me, shielding me, and beside him, was a huge bird, with flickering glowing feathers, standing in front of my now-dead attackers. It was a phoenix. The wreckage around me proved that it had probably deflected each attack. Kaito looked at me, worry glittering in his chocolate eyes, “Are you okay?”

I nodded, “Yeah. So, you have a Summoning scroll for phoenixes?”

He nodded, wringing his ponytail with his hands, “I didn’t really intend to use it ever, but it’s time I stopped being a coward. I’m not a pussy and its time to prove it.”

I nodded, “Good for you. Come on, you’ve got this. Where’s Haku?” 

Kaito grinned sheepishly, “He’s still in the alley you tried to conceal us in.”

I nodded, “Come on. Who’s your summon?”

The phoenix ruffled its feathers, it had a silvery voice when it spoke, yet had a jagged undertone, “I’m Hitoshi.” So, a boy then, “It is nice to meet a Kaguya like you. They normally have such fluctuating emotions.”

I raised an eyebrow, “…Alright, then? Can you summon more?”

Kaito nodded, “Yeah, phoenixes are the best summons, they can do anything!”

I shrugged, handing him a chakra pill, “Eat this. The training I gave you means you should have pretty substantial chakra levels, and they do seem to be on par with quite a few genin, so with the help of this and me pumping my own chakra into you, you should try to pour as much chakra into attempting to summon the Boss Phoenix.”

He took the pill and dry-swallowed it, before weaving the hand signs with practiced ease and slamming his hand into the ground, “Kuchiyose no Jutsu!”

A huge cloud of smoke enveloped us, and a positively massive bird rose up from its depths. It looked very like a cross between a hummingbird and an eagle, with the feathers near its beak being a bright blue which faded into white everywhere else, before turning into a violent shade of red and orange at the wings and tail. The air around it seemed to flicker from the heat, and its intelligent black eyes seemed to bore into us. “Ah, Kaito-sama.” It finally warmly said, revealing it was, in fact, a girl. “I see you’ve finally been forced into summoning me. What happened?”

He rubbed his ponytail, “Hi…Hotaru. I needed help. Please. Konoha’s under attack, and I-I can’t–”

The bird nodded, “I understand, you’re scared. You wish to do something, yet you’re still scared. It doesn’t matter. We’ll help you. The Kanjō always did feel a lot. It’s what makes you special.”

Her calming voice rolled off of me in waves, and I suppressed the urge to relax. Now I got where Kaito got his emphatic personality from. I nodded at Kaito, “Explain later. We got this right now.”

He grinned and we charged back into the fray, the two Phoenixes on our tail.

I didn't remember much about the invasion. It was just fighting, fighting, killing, wounding. It was only after the enemy withdrew and people started clearing up the bodies and looking through the damage that I felt anything. Kaito had fallen asleep as soon as Hotaru and I got him to the safehouses, but the Boss Phoenix summon remained behind to help out. I was aching with bruises and heavy internal bleeding, and a light concussion, but there were few actual wounds. My hand was bleeding heavily from when someone had hit me with a few senbon, that I wasn’t certain if they had been laced with anything. Kakashi-Sensei put a hand on my shoulder, "It'll be fine." He soothed, really, really awkwardly. "Come on, you need sleep. Food. Anything but this."

I shook his arm off, "I can't find Kaito." I admitted, softly monotone. "I can't find Aoi, either. They might be dead. I never thought they would die from an invasion." I slowly, grudgingly admitting what I had hated about myself for a long time, "…I don't want them to die. They were supposed to be safe, low threat levels."

He knelt down, "Do you need a hug?" His voice was perfectly serious, "I… heard it helps."

"Definitely not." I decided immediately. 

He ploughed on forward, "You've helped out so much. But right now, you're drained. You can't help anyone like this. By the time you're recharged, they'll probably come find us."

I nodded, "If you're sure…" before immediately letting sleep take over me…

When I woke up, I found myself curled into a corner of a room– hospital, judging by the scent– easily picking up on chakra signatures. One belonged to Sasuke, that I could figure out easily, another was Naruto's beacon of hope, and then the warm malleable chakra that belonged to… Kaito! I jerked up and looked around. I must have been really close to one of the beds, because when I jolted up, I came nose to nose with Sasuke, who immediately froze. I just twisted my neck to look around him. Yeah, there he was, the little orange haired boy. A Phoenix summon was sitting on his bedpost, probably Hitoshi. I walked over to him, putting a smile over my face. Kaito looked tiredly back upto me "Ya know, you don't have to broadcast your emotions like that?" He asked with a yawn, "I can feel your emotions resonating with my chakra."

I nodded, "Yeah, well, that's what you get for never telling me how badass you are."

He chuckled, "It's so weird, you're saying that in a perfect deadpan, but I know I can feel your emotions, but I have literally no idea what you're saying. It's adorable!"

I looked at him, noticing Sasuke turn around with a huff, burrowing into his blankets. "Alright…?" I accepted. 

Hitoshi grinned, "Ignore him, Kaguya-hime. He's high as a kite on all the meds."

"Good to know." I replied. Before turning my attention to Naruto. He wasn't conscious, but the bandages covering every little part of him was cause for concern. I sucked in breath, leaning closer to him, "What happened? How long has it been?"

Sasuke grunted, "Hn, barely a day, and the dobe tried to fight against the Ichibi no Tanuki on his own."

I let out a sigh, "He won, right?" I mean, he had to. The village was still intact.

Sasuke stared at me, before grunting an affirmative.

I sighed, “Well, good to hear it. I’ll be off then, looking for Haku and everyone.” He just lokked away from me, but I could feel the discomfort oozing off of him, “That reminds me. We still need to work on that telepathic link of ours. It could be a useful thing.”

He shrugged, “Hn, we should work on it later.”

I nodded and left through the window, moving silently. I dodged the workers and the ordinary civilians, who seemed to be settling well into everyday life. I went to the wall that had been reserved for civilian casualties, hoping against hope I wouldn’t see that name. My eyes scanned it quickly and carefully, before finally spotting it, Ha Aoi. It was one of the names given to the orphans who didn’t have a family name. It was the officially documented one, but she didn’t tell anyone, since they used to laugh that she was a ‘Blue leaf’. I never understood how they thought it was a hurtful name. It was just that. A name. My eyes were dry, I realized. I hadn’t blinked for quite some time. I blinked slowly. Then turned back to home. I mechanically made my way there, knowing I would never see the blue head in there ever again. I stopped outside my apartment block. Scratch that, none of us would ever be in that apartment ever again. The building had sustained quite a bit of damage, but our apartment, which had been on the top, had been blasted open. I used chakra to walk up there and see the damage closely. There was nothing there. All my books, all my things, gone. Remnants of charred beanbags and splintered furniture had managed to survive, but that was it. I stared at it for a long time. Just thinking. Eventually, I realized Kakashi-sensei was behind me. He crouched down, looking at the destruction. “This might not have been an accident.” He finally said.

“What makes you say that?” I asked impassively

He looked seriously at me, “You know they tried to abduct you and Sasuke when you two were in the hospital after the second round.”

I nodded, “Ibiki-Shishou told me.”

Kakashi-sensei nodded, “But what he didn’t tell you was that when they failed, they instead went after your medical records. And you have a LOT of those. We know you look into your kekkei genkai in your own free time, and Sasuke probably gave you a few scrolls on it a while back so they could have destroyed it in an attempt to get information on your kekkei genkai.”

I hummed, “That makes sense actually. What happened to Orochimaru, anyways?”

He looked away, “He escaped, but severely weakened.”

I nodded, “Alright then. How’s the Hokage? He must’ve been the target of the attack, right?”

Kakashi looked downcast, “He died, protecting the village.”

I looked down, “Oh. I… I see. When’s the funeral?”

“A couple days from now, actually.” He replied conversationally.

I nodded, “Do you know where Haku is?”

Kakashi-sensei nodded, “Yeah. He’s in the hospital. Job shadowing, I think he said.”

I straightened up, “I will go meet him.”

He shrugged, “Alright then.”

I walked back to the hospital in silence, looking around for Haku. I spotted him following a woman in a medic’s uniform. Wait, no, Haku only wore kimonos and ribbons if she felt like a girl at the moment. So it was she right now.

I walked over to her, scanning her body for injuries. There were none except for a few stitches on her head. She caught my eye and turned to her superior, “I apologize, Haruno-san, but Kimiko-senpai has need of me.”

The woman looked at her and merely nodded, “Sure, just be back soon.”

Haku turned towards me, “Kimiko-senpai, it’s good to see you again. Is anything wrong?”

I shook my head, “No. Not really. Just needed to check up on you.”

She looked vaguely amused, “Well, I am alright. As you can see. Is there something else?”

I fingered my clan brand, “When were you a medic?” I evaded instead, as Haku guided us to the hospital’s roof,

Haku’s face told me she wasn’t falling for my evasion but she played along, “I was always very proficient with poisons, antidotes, herbal medicine, and first aid. I’m taking up iryo-jutsu since once my probationary period is over, I’ll be put into a team, and my regular skills will probably make our team unbalanced since we won’t have a support member because I’m suited for things like sabotage and front line combat. But anyways, what’s really happening?”

“This was Kaito’s first experience with war.” I confided, “He probably will wish to become a ninja now.”

“Is that a bad thing?” Haku asked.

I shook my head, “Not really. No… a Summoning Scroll, especially one as prestigious as a Phoenix scroll would be very useful for Konoha. It’s just… It’ll put him in danger. He could die.” We were alone now. I had to get this off of my chest soon, “And I don’t want him to die. Aoi has already been killed. Our apartment has been completely destroyed. I’m being targeted, Sasuke’s being targeted. Naruto…” I couldn’t say anything, “will die eventually. People like him tend to.” Nice save, “And I don’t know. I know I can’t be around to take care of everyone. That’s what Aoi did. Sitting in the background making everything run smoothly. I can’t even cook without her!” I confessed it all in a flat tone, biting back tears, willing my eyes to stay dry.

Haku made no move to comfort me, she knew physical contact tended to make things worse. “The best thing to do is make sure all your affairs are in order so you can take time to properly grieve.” He reasoned, “For starters, you, Kaito and I, must look for other quarters.”

I nodded, “I’ll ask around. See if anyone has space.”

Haku shrugged, “I’ll see what money I have left from the money Zabuza used to give me. We can use it for food and clothes. We’ll get through this.”

I nodded, “Yeah, we will.”

* * *

Today was the day of the funeral of the Third Hokage. It had been three days since the Suna-Oto Invasion, and I had spent the time helping in rebuilding and catching a couple minutes’ sleep in the trees or on a bench. Kaito still hadn’t recovered properly from his chakra exhaustion. He was leaning his entire body on Sakura as we listened to the mourning with our heads bowed. I had offered to support him but Sasuke had subtly guilted Sakura into doing it. Haku was doing all right, and Naruto would, undoubtedly, make a full recovery in less than a week. The only problem was me. I had woken up with a fever. It had been odd, the feeling of wanting to return to sleep. It reminded me of genjutsu or sedatives of a sort. I had never faced an illness like this. It was always completely awful, making me succumb to violent waves of vomiting and throes of chills and fever dreams. Never this gentle illness, so I took it as signs of stress and sleep deprivation. It didn’t matter, I would sleep the day away once this funeral was over. I weaved slightly as the ninja started coming forward one by one to pay their respects. As soon as I stepped forward, just a little, and the whole world swayed, and I hit the floor like a ton of bricks…

* * *

POV change:

First of August, 63 AWSP

3 Days before Kaguya-chan’s episode

ROOT Agent 0023156 bowed in front of Danzo-sama's desk, giving her mission report. "The Kaguya is recovering from the shock of loosing her Aoi friend. Her current mental state suggests that she is incapable of being recruited. She is too easily attached, despite her cold and reserved demeanour. The Yuki boy, on the other hand, has already been desensitised by the Kiri Black ops. Extensive mental conditioning and interrogation has led T&I to declare him a loyal citizen to Konoha. He can be easily recruited. The Kanjō clan boy, has been pushed onto the path of a shinobi but still lacks the apathy to be a good shinobi."

Danzō-sama merely waved her away, "Your mission was adequate. Your next assignment will be given to you soon enough. Leave my presence."

Root Agent Salamander bowed and left. She made her way to the wall of civilian casualties, to look at her young silver headed former target. Granted, 0023156 was younger, but that didn’t matter. It was odd, why a child like her was mourning the lost civilian. Ha Aoi was just that. A civilian orphan, with no family background or skill. Her alliance with the Uchiha heir was understandable. They were both talented students. By sparring together, they could force themselves to get better. The Kanjō clan heir was useful, seeing as his special brand of chakra allowed him to gain the trust of others quicker and gain him lots of connections and influence. If she befriended him, those connections would extend to her as well. But the civilian? She was not unique. All she was was the housekeeper. The one who kept Kaguya-san on track. She was no one special, finding another mother hen friend would be easy. Granted, none of them would be ten years old, but still. She watched as the girl stood in front of it, head slightly bowed. It had been a few days since the attack, and every day, she would return and stay for the minimum of five hours. Today, the young ninja was slightly flushed and sweating, though, so maybe she had restarted training? It was better than mourning a useless child.

She felt a twinge of chakra, familiar, yet not at the same time. So, she stayed behind until the Kaguya had left, waiting for her unknown superior to confront her, probably to reprimand her for observing the target when she had been discharged from this mission. Her superior however, was not one from ROOT. It was a young man, with silver hair and most of his face hidden by a half-mask and a tilted hitai-ate. It was Hatake Kakashi. He looked balefully at her, but she was not one who could discern other’s emotions very easily. “So.” He began, “Danzō’s been keeping an eye on her, has he? Planning to snatch her away?”

She looked away, “My mission is over. I’m not aware of what will follow afterwards.”

“What’s your name, then?” he asked.

“I’m nothing and no one. I don’t have the liberty to indulge in names.” She replied seamlessly, her training cutting in, “But I am also identified as 0023156. Or Salamander. How did you find out?”

“Too clever. Too piercing. It was obvious, in hindsight.” Came the smooth reply.

She just nodded, “I meant no real harm. In the end.” A pause as she tried to assimilate her words, “I didn’t think the civilian would be mourned by her to this extent.”

Hatake-san merely nodded, “Yeah, well. She’s just an odd girl.” He turned towards her, “But, Salamander? I suggest you stay away from Kimiko, ESPECIALLY during this moment of weakness.” He eye-smiled, while radiating Killing Intent potent enough to disturb her, before vanishing in a puff of smoke, leaving Salamander shaken, and –dare she say it? –terrified.

* * *

Third of August, 63 AWSP

3 Hours after Kaguya-chan’s episode

Root Agent 0023156 was in shock. Well, she would’ve been in shock if she was capable of feeling emotions. Which she wasn’t. Kaguya Kimiko had been alright, right up until she had randomly collapsed in the funeral of the Sandaime Hokage-sama, vomiting blood. She hadn’t ingested any poison. Danzo-sama couldn’t have ordered a hit on her since she was loyal to Konoha so what had it been? She couldn’t speak out in the defense of the girl to Danzo-sama unless she wished to be reprimanded for her insubordination and accused of having emotional attachments. Which she didn’t. She felt a sudden pressure on her neck as she was hauled up from the back of her collar. “I was wondering when you’d come.” She said lowly.

Hatake Kakashi’s voice was dangerously cold, “I warned you, didn’t I? Don’t you dare go near her. What have you done to her? What is Danzo planning?”

His grip on her shirt tightened, restricting her airway, “I-I don’t know. I’m so-sorry. He h-hadn’t even hinted towards k-killing her. I d-don’t know if th-this is his doing, but d-don’t you think if I’d n-noticed she was about to be k-killed, I’d step in:”

Hatake-san put her down. “I don’t know why I’m choosing to believe you.” He growled. “But you should thank your lucky stars that I do, or else you’ll be dead.”

She released a breath. “I… deeply apologize, Hatake-san, but I don’t know who did this. I wouldn’t have let them do this if I knew it was gonna happen.”

He glared at her, “I don’t want to hear it. Just because I have no proof you don’t know anything, doesn’t mean Danzō doesn’t have a hand in this. If I even see you near the hospital, consider yourself fucked.”

She bent in a bow, “I’ll keep it in mind.” Before Shunshinning away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who are you, mystery agent? Can anyone guess?

**Author's Note:**

> I played with the idea of her being here before the Uchiha massacre, where Sasuke just immediately drags her into his home with her being absolutely bewildered. But, I think this is a good way for them to bond too. On fanfiction, where I'm mainly at, you can find me with the same name.


End file.
